














• O > » fe 








^-.c.V 













'0^<b- 







^ ^ • • • • 



EARLY CLKRGY 



OF 



PEiN^NSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 



BY 

REV. S. R HOTCHKIN, M. A. 

Author of The Mornings of the Bible, History of 
Germantown, &c. 




p. W. ZIEGLER & CO., Publishers, 
No. 720 Chestnut Street, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
1890. 






3:av«n 



BO 
SBX 



a1 



1^ 






Copyright, i8go, by Rev. S. F. Hotchkin. 



This Volume 

is respectfully dedicated to 

The right REV. OZI W. WHITAKER, D.D, 

BISHOP OF PENNSYLVANIA, 
AND 

The right REV. LEIGHTON COLEMAN, 
S.T.D., LL.D., 

BISHOP OF DELAWARE. 



CONTENTS: 

I. Swedish Clergy, ----- 7 

II. Bishops of Pennsylvania, - - 94 

III. Christ Church, - - . - - - 97 

IV. St. Peter's Church, - - - 120 
V. St. James's Church, - _ - - 139 

VI. St. Paul's Church, - _ - - 159 

VII. Trinity Church (Oxford), - - - 180 

VIII. Church of the Epiphany, - - . - 202 

IX. Bishops of Delaware, - - - - 224 

X. Delaware Clergy, - - - - 234 

APPENDIX. 

Rev. Dr. John Andrews, - - - - 259 

Rev. Dr. Frederick Beasley, - - - 262 

Rev. Dr. George BOyd, - - - - 266 

Rev. Dr. Gregory T. Bedell, - - 268 

Rev. Dr. J. A. Clark, - - - - - 272 

Rev. Dr. James Montgomery, - - - 276 



PRKFACE. 



The writer of this volume thought it desirable to 
perpetuate the memories of the Philadelphia clergy of 
early times, and as no one else undertook the pleasant 
task he has performed it. The search led into the his- 
tory of the Swedish clergy, and, as Pennsylvania and 
Delaware were united in Provincial days, the book 
naturally widened out to include both. It is hoped that 
these devoted men may by their example inspire others 
to continue similar labors in the Church of Christ. 

Most of the articles here collected appeared in TJie 
Standard of The Cross and The CJinrch, edited by the 
Rev. Messrs. French, and published in Philadelphia by 
W. E. Hering. The publisher has kindly allowed the 
use of a number of plates. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

1. Acrelius. 

2. The Swedes' Church and House of Sven Seiier. 

3. Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church, Philadelphia. 

4. N. Collin, D. D. 

5. Holy Trinity (Old Swedes') Church, Wilmington, Delaware. 

6. St. Gabriel's Church, Morlatton, Pa. 

7. Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware. 

8. St. John's Church, Wilmington, Delaware." 

9. Bishop Stevens. 

10. Christ Church, Philadelphia. 

11. Christ Church, Philadelphia. 

12. St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. 

13. Bishop Davies. 

14. St. James's Church, Philadelphia. 

15. St. James's Church, Philadelphia. 

16. Rev. Dr. H. J. Morton. 

17. Bishop Nichols. 

18. St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 

19. Rev. Dr. Joseph Pilmore. 

20. Trinity Church, Oxford, Philadelphia. 

21. Rev. Dr. Richard Newton. 

22. Bishop Lee. 

23. Bishop Coleman. 

24. "Bishopstead." 



ERRATUM. 
The matter on page 86, etc. should have followed page 201, 



^'SWEDISH CLERGY." 

CHAPTER I. 

"He's Christ's ambassador, that man of God, 
Steward of God's own mysteries." — Bishop Mant. 

The First Settlement at Tinicum. 

THE secular press delights to publish war reminis- 
cences. The religious press should perpetuate 
the memory of the soldiers of Christ, who, in this 
new land, wilder than our distant West to-day, pro- 
claimed the Gospel, leaving posts of learning and home 
parishes for mission work. The early Swedish clergy 
were founders of the Episcopal Church, for every one 
of their parishes on and near the Delaware River fell 
into our hands, and Bishops Whitaker, Coleman and 
Scarborough are to-day reaping the fruit of the Swedish 
missions. As Dr. Clay remarks, the James River Col- 
ony and the New England Puritans are commemorated 
and the Swedes deserve like notice. Some excellent 
families in Philadelphia trace descent from worthy Swed- 
ish ancestry, and may be proud of their origin ; for while 
the Swedes were not a money-making people, they were 
God-fearing and honorable, and maintained church ser- 
vice under great discouragement, while faithful lay- 
readers served vacant parishes that the flame of devotion 
might be kept burning. 

Let us, then, follow the faith of these Swedish teach- 
ers, ''considering the end of their conversation, Jesus 
Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day and forever," 
(Heb. 13:7, 8), whether in Sweden or America. 

(7) 



5 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. 

TINICUM. 

On a pleasant May morning, accompanied by Rev. 
Dr. Chas. A. Maison, rector of St. James's Church, 
Kingsessing, I visited Big Tinicum Island to inves- 
tigate Swedish relics. The tazaretto buildings (whose 
superintendent aided our search) now adorn the island 
with their shady piazzas and well-kept yards, but little 
remains to mark the Swedish rule. We saw on a bluff 
what is supposed to be the graveyard of Governor Printz's 
time, as an old resident descended from Swedes, Charles 
D. Johnson, told us that he once found a grave-stone 
there. A double-house adjoining is said to contain a 
part of Printz Hall, erected by the Governor. A man 
working in some alterations on it had been a soldier in 
the Zulu war in Africa, so cosmopolitanism yet charac- 
terizes this country. The first burial in the yard was 
that of Catharine, daughter of Andrew Hanson. 

The Delaware River still winds along as when Swedes 
paddled on it, but the main current is beyond Little 
Tinicum Island, and the tops of vessels are seen gliding 
along above that island. Bow Creek is narrowed by 
embankments. Tinicum is in Delaware County, as Bow 
Creek is the city line of Philadelphia. 

Occasionally a Swedish brick is ploughed up among 
Indian darts. Mr. J. W. Jordan, at the Library of the 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, showed me a brick 
from Governor Printz's house, and another from Tinicum 
Church, and another from Fort Casimer, New Castle, 
Delaware. That from the fort may be sun-dried, but the 
others are heavier and may have been burned. They 
are of a cream color like Milwaukee and Buffalo brick. 

The church site is doubtful, though an old resident, 
George Home, would place it where high water now 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. 9 

covers the shore. It was of wood, and in the fort, 
so that the brick spoken of may have been a part 
of the foundation. Governor Printz built the church 
in 1646. 

The gardens on the river bank are pleasant under 
the spring sun; and the -blossoming trees and green 
box and growing vegetables adorn the spot vrhere 
Printz had his orchard and gardens and built his '' very 
handsome" and large house over 2co years ago. It 
stood over i6o years, and was burned accidentally in 
the beginning of this century. Here was his "pleasure- 
house," though not equal to Kubla Khan's. Here v»-as 
the emporium of New Sweden, and as Virgil would 
have said, " her arms and chariot," though the chariot 
was probably a boat. Here " the principal inhabit- 
ants had their dwellings and plantations." i\ccording to 
Acrelius, Printz built a fort called New Gottenberg. 

Tinicum was called Tenacongh b}' the Indians. The 
Swedes from Racoon Kihl (Creek) and above on the 
Delaware went to Tinicum and Wicacoa to church ; 
below this point, down the river, they attended at 
Tranhook. 

Rev. Dr. Henry ^vlelchior ^luhlenberg, in his Journal 
in 1761, states that he went with the Rev. Provost Dr. 
Wrangel in a visitation to "Tenakum," noteworthy as 
the site of the first Swedish colony. They lodged wi;:h 
^Ir. John Taylor, an Englishman, who owned part of 
the island. He had been baptized by the Provost. His 
wife's mother was a Swede. Christian conversation and 
prayer improved the evening hours. The first grave- 
yard was visited and the remains " of the first Christian 
church in this western wilderness." The church was 
used till 17C0. In some way the bell was once alienated 
and the Swedes did two days' reaping in harvest to re- 
gain it. 



lO THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. 

Governor Printz's residence was named by him 
Printz Hall. A handsome wooden church was also 
built at the same place, which Magister Campanius 
consecrated on the last great prayer-day which was 
celebrated in New Sweden, on the 4th of September, 
1646. Printz was born in a parsonage, so that it was 
natural that he should care for church matters. The 
daughter of Printz married Vice-Governor John Pape- 
goija. She lived for many years at Tinicum. The 
Holland government gave her a pension in provisions, 
perhaps for her household. Israel Helmes, an Indian 
interpreter, was her second husband. 

Aubrey H. Smith, Esq., WTites me : *' As to the site of 
the old church, I have no exact knowledge. I have 
always supposed it to have been on the bluff where the 
old graveyard certainly was, and the Printz mansion 
probably was. I have heard my father say that in his 
childhood he was playing, with his elder sister Mar- 
garet, afterward Mrs. Daniel King, below the bluff, and 
seeing an old board projecting from the bank of sand 
he pulled it out. On so doing a human skull rolled 
down the bank after him. He and she were so terri- 
fied that they ran in haste and fright homewards. 
There was a tradition extant among the country peo- 
ple that a boat's crew from the British fleet, then in 
the river, landed at the beach and proceeded inland to 
plunder the inhabitants. Before their return some of 
the country people came down and shot the boat 
keeper. In my early day the story was current that 
the ghost of the dead sentry could often by seen at mid- 
night walking up and down the sandy beach between 
the big trees. Children avoided going there after dark. 
I have heard my father say that when the British frigate 
'Augusta' was burnt in the river about three miles 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. II 

above, word came down to the family, then living in 
the stone mansion house, now mine, called Printz Hall, 
that the frigate was burning. His sister Margaret took 
him and ran up the river bank a mile or two, when the 
ship exploded with a mighty roar. It may be of in- 
terest to state that several of the large guns of this ship 
have been recovered by the dredgers engaged in 
deepening the channel. One of them now forms a part 
of the soldiers' monument at Germantown. The early 
Swedish inhabitants appear to have lived without ex- 
ception in log houses. Many of these have been 
standing until recent years. A few of them remain. 
One of them, the first house on the river above the 
Lazaretto, the dwelling of my grandfather in 1765 or 
thereaboutSj before the building of the present large 
stone house, was about to share the fate of the others, 
when I was induced some years ago to repair it. It 
will probably, with these repairs, stand another hun- 
dred years. Many of these log houses, perhaps the 
most of them, were built of white cedar logs cut in the 
low grounds adjacent, where their undecaying stumps 
may, in some instances, still be seen in the pastures. 
What may seem curious is the fact that the white 
swamp cedar is no longer a tree of Pennsylvania, though 
common enough .in the cedar swamps of New Jersey 
and further southward. The house which I repaired is 
built of white cedar logs. 

"Many years ago I received from a resident on the 
bluff two or three small yellow bricks found in the sand 
underneath the bluff, exactly similar in size and color 
to those so abundant in the old towns of Holland. They 
were said to have been imported from that country and 
to have been used in the building of the church. When 
the church foundations fell in they were of course left on 
the beach." 



12 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT ATTINICUM. 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 

Thomas Campanius Holm's Description of New Swe- 
den was written in Swedish. New Sweden comprised 
parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, on the 
Delaware River. This book was translated by Peter S. 
Du Ponceau, LL.D., and published for the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania in 1 834. It was printed in Stock- 
holm in 1702, and dedicated to Charles XH. The au- 
thor was a grandson of Rev. John Campanius Holm, 
who came to America with Governor Printz, as his chap- 
lain, in 1642. He was here six years as a pastor, and 
translated Luther's Catechism into the Delaware lan- 
guage. 

The book of Holm's is generally styled Campanius's. 
The word Holm is said to have been added to Campan- 
ius by reason of a residence in Stockholm of the person 
who assumed it. The work contains a list of Swedish 
clergy from a dessertation in Latin ** De Colonia Nov^a 
Suecia," published at Upsal, in 1825, by Chas. David 
Arfwedson, of Stockholm, a member of the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania. 

The Swedish engineer Lindstrom's MS. assisted Cam- 
panius Holm in the description of the country. 

Rev. Israel Acrelius's New Swedjsn, translated by 
Rev. Dr. Wm. Reynolds, and published by the Histor- 
ical Society of Pennsylvania, has given the bulk of the 
matter in these notes. This large volume is deeply 
interesting. It is dedicated to Queen Louisa Ulrica. 

Benjam.in Ferris's Original Settlements of Swedes on 
the Delaware and Miss E. Montgomery's Wilmington, 
and Rev. Dr. Jehu Curtis Clay's ''Annals of the Swedes" 
add their quota of information. Dr. Clay succeeded 
Dr. Collin, and assisted him, and had Swedish blood in 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. I 5 

his veins from his maternal ancestry and was qualified 
to treat the subject. As to general history, Christianity 
had some hold in Sweden from Archbishop St. An- 
schar's day in the 9th century. King Olaf Skaut-Ko- 
nung was baptized about 1008, and afterward the kings 
were Christians. In 10.75, King Inge forbade idol wor- 
ship, and Christianity was victorious. The viking Olaf 
and Bishop Sigfrid, who, in A. D., 1000, planted the 
*' Cross of the White Christ" in Sweden and Norway, 
must not be forgotten. 

GOVERNMENT AND KINGLY AID. 

When Rudman and his companions came hither, 
William of Orange gave a passport. It was feared that 
none could be procured, but he respected their Christian 
work. King Charles XL, of Sweden, charged these 
clergy to comxmunicate with him if they needed any- 
thing, and presented books to the mission. He said to 
the missionaries : '' Go, now, in the name of the Lord, 
to the place to which I send you, God be with you and 
make your undertaking successful." 

, King Charles XIL in his hard campaigns in Poland 
and Russia, and his troubled '' sojourn in Turkey," at- 
tended to the mission, dating his orders from his camps. 

The amiable Queen Ulrica Eleanora, ruling over the 
Swedes, Goths and Wends after the death of her brother 
Charles XII. in 1 718, wrote kindly to the American 
mission, and presented it with books of devotion. 

When it is considered that the Crown of Sweden did 
not obtain worldly advantage from these missions, but 
acted through pity and love toward her Swedish chil- 
dren and their clergy and the Indians, we may see a 
fulfillment of the prophet's prediction that kings and 
queens should be nursing fathers and mothers to the 



1 6 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. 

Church of Christ. The relations of Sweden to her 
American missions was like that of England to our 
missions. 

The English also largely aided their own churches in 
Pennsylvania, and Holland helped the German Re- 
formed, and various parts of Germany assisted the Ger- 
man Evangelical Churches, while Scotland lent her aid 
to the Free Schools. A country thus fostered should 
do good mission work abroad as a grateful return of 
benefits. Penn commended the Swedes and strove to 
aid in getting clergy for them, and gave them catechisms 
and other books and an English Bible for use in church 
service. 

The need of Swedish aid was apparent when the 
sailor, Anders Printz, said to have been Governor Printz's 
nephew, visited this country, and returned to Stockholm 
and told good John Thelin, postmaster at Gotheborg, 
that clergy were sadly wanted. He presented the case 
to 'King Charles XL, who i^eceived the matter favorably. 
Thelin then wrote to America a kindly Christian epistle, 
and Charles Springer replied in an earnest letter, and 
after some delay Rudman, Biork and Auren came. The 
English Governor, Wm. INIarkham, showed a deep inter- 
est in these negotiations. 

After Biork returned, a Communion Service was pre- 
sented to the Church at Christina at his suggestion, by 
the P'ahlun Mining Company ; so the pleasant connection 
continued. 

THE COUNTRY. 

The orchards, and gardens, and trees, and food, and 
ores are described in detail by Acrelius. The luscious 
peaches and the agriculture are noticed. The heat of 
the country seems to strike this Swede who mentions 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. I 7 

the button-tree (knapptra) saying, *'Its greatest use is 
for shading houses from the great heat of the sun." 
This paragraph reads strangely now : "The streets in 
New York are planted with locusts." 

Springer praises God for the fertile grain country 
which blessed the Swedish farmer, so that from the Del- 
aware River ''the adjacent islands " could receive food. 
Animals, birds and fish abounded. The wives and 
daughters spun wool and flax and wove cloth In 
this worldly prosperity they sought faithful shepherds 
to give spiritual food from God's Word and the Holy 
Sacrament. 

THE INDIANS. 

While Penn deserves all credit for his noble treatment 
of the Indians, the Swedes had preceded him in such 
Christian conduct. In Queen Christina's instructions 
to Governor Printz who led the second Swedish colony, 
it was ordered that ''the wild nations" should be treated 
"with all humanity and respect, that no violence or 
wrong be done to them, that they may gradually be in- 
structed in the truths and worship of the Christian 
religion, and in other ways brought to civilization and 
good government, and in this manner properly guided." 
The land was bought of the natives. Springer's letter, 
signed by many persons, says, " We live in great amity 
with the Indians, who have not done us any harm for 
many years." There were Indian traditions of a religious 
character. They were well disposed to the Christian 
religion, as Rev. John Campanius declares in his pre- 
face to the catechism ; and Rev. Messrs. Rudman, and 
Biork, and also Pastorius testify to the same effect. The 
Indians were fond of learning the catechism and "en- 
gaged Charles Springer to teach their children to read 



1 8 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT TINICUM. 

it." The natives aided the Swedes, and tried to keep 
them from harm. 

SETTLEMENT. 

Dr. Collin's Narrative, given by Dr. Clay, states that 
the first Swedish colony reached here in 1634. Three 
or four reinforcements followed on in 1654. The Swedish 
mission began by the appointment of Rev. Messrs. Rud- 
man, Biork and Auren. It continued over 130 years. 



WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 



CHAPTER 11. 
WicACOA AND Wilmington. 

BISHOPS. 

BISHOP SWEDBERG, father of Emanuel Sweden- 
borg, was the earnest counsellor of King Charles 
XL in plans for the mission and for Indian work. 
In William White's '' Life of Swedenborg," I find it noted 
that Bishop Swedberg said that he thought that ten 
carts could hardly carry what he had printed of his own 
writings, and there was nearly as much more unprinted. 
The son's university dissertation on ''Seneca and Latin 
Writers," was dedicated to his father with love and 
veneration. The Bishop died in 1735. Rev. Nicholas 
Collin had an interview with Swedenborg in 1766. The 
narration speaks of a younger clerical brother of Collin 
who had lately died, *' esteemed for his devotion, erudi- 
tion and virtue." Bishop Swedberg was interested in the 
Swedish mission for forty years, until his death, acting 
as its superintendent. He gave the American churches 
hundreds " of his excellent hymn books," and sent his 
son, Jasper, as schoolmaster in New Jersey and a number 
of relations as clergy. He wrote a work called "Amer- 
ica lUuminata," on American missions, a part of which 
was published. The English ''Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Gospel," thanked 'the Swedish King and 
elected Bishop Swedberg an honorary member. The 
Bishop instructed the Swedish clergy to keep up inti- 
mate association with the Episcopal clergy and the 
Society. 



20 WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 

Archbishop Dr. John Steuchius, after Bishop Swed- 
berg's death, had the care of the American churches. 

Archbishop Samuel Troilius's influence in the coming 
of Von Wrangel is noticed in the sketch of that clergy- 
man. 

Archbishop Olaus Suebilius received the King's letter 
authorizing the sending of Rudman and his fellovv- 
workers. 

Archbishop Henry Benzelius had oversight of the 
Swedish missions. His father, Erik, was Archbishop, 
and his brothers, Erik and Henry, held the same post. 

The Swedish Provost, or Superintendent, or Commis- 
sary, appears to have been a sort of Assistant Bishop, 
and it seems a pity that he was not really a Bishop, 
and that England and Sweden should have made the 
same mistake in withholding the Episcopate from 
America. 

Biork reports, from Christina, to the Right Rev. Su- 
perintendent, Dr. Israel Kolmodin, and styles Philadel- 
phia "a clever little town." It was about fourteen 
years old. 

GLEBES. 

The Wicacoa glebe was at Passayungh, now Point 
Breeze. The parsonage was burned in 1 717. A mod- 
erate house was erected afterward. Provost Sandel had 
his own dwelling at Schuylkill Ferry. Gloria Dei 
Church still has a very small ground-rent at Point 
Breeze, If this parish and Trinity Church, Wilming- 
ton, still owned the land once in their hands they Avould 
be very rich, as cities now cover their property. The 
Rev. Mr. Lidman had his own house at Moyamensing. 
In Mr. Dylander's day the parsonage was neat, ''with a 
fine vegetable garden and an orchard on two sides of 



w" 


H 


B 




^ 


1 


m 


w 


O 


M 




m 


m 


Ui 


> 


" 


e 


n 




ffi 


w 


d 




5« 




o 


VJ 


K 


fe 


> 


q 


55 


m 









C 


ffi 


o 


O 


ri 


g 


U5 


^ 


O 




11 


OJ 




OQ 


S 


c 


w 


5- 


2 




c« 


e 


W 


c 


:;2 




50 




WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 23 

the house." There were glebes at Wilmington, Swedes- 
boro' and Pennsneck. 

HARDSHIPS. 

The Christina ministers were sometimes short of food. 
The wolves once killed a number of sheep which be- 
longed to a person in the Christina congregation. It 
was in the summer and the flesh could not be salted, 
and some was taken to the rectory and was like the 
raven's food to Elijah. Dr. Collin refers to the ''long 
and perilous voyages " of the missionaries in coming 
here. It took months to make the passage. The sur- 
roundings in this new country were often very objec- 
tionable. 

WICACOA. 

Wicacoa is said to be from an Indian word meaning 
dwelling and fir-tree, perhaps signifying a collection of 
fir-trees where Indians dwelt. The first church was a 
block-house built in 1669, and fitted up as a church in 
1677. It had ''loop-holes for defence." The church 
and parsonage had a beautiful river view, being on the 
banks of the Delaware. The old parsonage stood close 
to the site of the present rectory. The new church was 
built near the site of the old block-house. "The family 
of Swan Swanson gave the ground and increased the 
same by an acre on the 19th of September, 1697." This 
is now indeed God's acre in which sleep many of the 
early colonists. Longfellow sings : 

'' I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls 
The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; 
It consecrates each grave within its walls, 
And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust." 

In Longfellow's translation of Bishop Tegner's " Chil- 
dren of the 'Lord's Supper," is a striking picture of 
Swedish church life. The poem commences : 



2 4 WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 

" Pentecost, day of rejoicing had come. The church of the village 
Gleaming stood in the morning's sheen." 

The "spring-sun " which the poet describes as touch- 
ing the belfry like the tongues of fire on the Apostles 
has for generations flamed on the river Delaware and 
its ancient Christian temple. Longfellow's preface to 
the poem referred to notes the patriarchal rural life of 
Sweden among the wild ''forests of fir." The silver 
streams with their bridges touched the poet's eye. The 
children and polite peasants, and the " God bless you," 
after sneezing, and the wayside churches with their 
gardens of Gethsemane, where perhaps kings were bap- 
tized or buried, and the dead laid with their heads to 
the west, all tell of ancient times. The poet represents 
the revered pastor in ''his broad-brimmed hat," and 
delineates the customs of a Swedish wedding, and the 
skaters and the Northern Lights in their burning glory, 
introducing a merry Christmas, and the midsummer 
with its leaves and flowers and St. John's Day, and the 
May-pole, and the long twilight and the church bells 
musically chiming the night hours, and the watchman's 
horn in the belfry. The Swedes in New Sweden prided 
themselves in keeping up old customs, and so far as 
they could Wicacoa, Tinicum, Christina and Racoon 
doubtless imitated these motherland institutions. The 
Gloria Dei (God's glory) Church stood on the shore 
where Swedish vessels might ever behold this heavenly 
beacon. 

In entering from a city street the quiet churchyard of 
Gloria Dei one is carried back for generations. The 
green grass on the well-kept graves, the dignified old 
church, lovingly preserved, and the cherubs still guard- 
ing the representation of the Holy Bible on the gallery 
within the sacred edifice, and the safe built into the 




Jk^-^'" 



GLORIA DEI (old SWEDES') CHURCH, PHH.ADELrHIA 



WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 27 

porch to guard the ancient records, show a worthy care 
of antiquity. Rev. Dr. CoUin's tablet, with an inscrip- 
tion composed by Rev. Dr. H. J. Morton, is on the wall, 
and we read : " He was the last of a long line of mis- 
sionaries sent by the ]\Iother Church in Sweden to 
give the Bread of Life to her children on this distant 
shore." 

Dr. Collin's wife, Hannah, is commemorated by an 
inscription written by himself, noting *' her piety, neat- 
ness and economy," and gentle affection ''with which 
she sustained him through many trying years, and his 
grief for her which shall not cease until he shall meet 
her in the land of the living." 

Dr. Ducachet wrote Dr. Clay's inscription thus : " He 
was a man of lofty virtues — a Christian of exemplary 
holiness, a priest of unsurpassed fidelity — a pastor of 
rare diligence, tenderness and discretion. His congre- 
gation have here placed this stone to tell of their admir- 
ation, their reverence and their sorrowing love." " He 
was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of 
faith. — Acts xi : 24." 

The body of IMargaret, daughter of Rev, Andrew 
Rudman, and wife of Andrew Robeson, is buried here. 
Two children of Rev. ]\Ir. Sandel have one double head- 
stone. Wertmuller, the artist, was buried here by Dr. 
Collin. His mother died at Claymont, Delaware, and 
was brought here for burial. Her mother was a daugh- 
ter of the artist Hesselius, and her sister married Rev. 
Eric Unander. 

Rev. Snyder B. Simes has long been the faithful rec- 
tor of Old Swedes' Church, and he kindly guided me to 
its relics. A vestryman. Park ]\IcFarland, Jr., also gave 
valuable information. 

Rev. James W. Ashton, of Olean, New York, writes 
me that his maternal ancestors, named Marsh, lived on 



28 WICACOA. AND WILMINGTON. 

ground adjoining the Wicacoa Church. In the Revolution 
the inmatesof the house yet standing in Christian Street 
were forced to leave by the British. Colonel Marsh, of 
this family, was in the American army. Mr. Ashton has 
a French clock which was then buried. 

There were Swedes on the Elk River in Maryland, 
and at other places on the eastern shore and Apoqui- 
meny (Middletown), Delaware. The faithful mission- 
aries strove to care for them, but eventually their lan- 
guage was lost in the English tide and they connected 
themselves with English churches. 

At first, in Christina, matins were '* celebrated on 
Christmas with lights burning in crowns and arms made 
of wood for the purpose." "The bell hung, in a wal- 
nut tree near the church, but as the squirrels continually 
resorted there for the nuts, and built their nests upon the 
arches of the church, by which the roof was injured, 
a neat little wooden tower was erected upon one of these 
outbuildings of the church, and the walnut tree was cut 
down." In Christina there was a demand for English 
service, and so that language was used in the afternoon 
when convenient to the pastor, Mr. Tranberg. 

Queen Christina's instructions to Governor Printz 
read: ''Above all things, shall the Governor consider 
and see to it that a true and due worship, becoming honor, 
laud and praise be paid to the Most High God in all 
things." The instruction of the young in Christianity 
is enjoined. 

At Christina, after a year's vacancy, Acrelius was sur- 
prised "that the people came quite unitedly to church, 
listened to the preaching with much attention, sang 
their Swedish hymns without a leader, and some of 
them astonishingly well. Besides, they brought to the 
church children for baptism, and mothers to be 



WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 29 

churched." However, certain disorders needed cor- 
rection. The church was cleaned and altar-linen pro- 
cured. 

CHURCH UNITY. 

In 1 7 10, Christ Church, Philadelphia, was enlarged 
and its rector and people asked permission to hold ser- 
vice at Gloria Dei. The Swedish service ended at 
eleven. Then the English service began and '' a Swedish 
hymn was sung as a stronger token of unity " during the 
English service. This continued for three successive 
Sundays. In 1715 the English held service here some 
time, and '' in recognition of this kindness the English 
made a present of altar-linen to the Wicacoa Church. 
When an English church was opened the Swedish clergy 
were invited. The English had no Bishops to consecrate 
their churches. In 17 13 Biork and Sandel were at the 
opening service of Trinity Church, Oxford, Philadelphia. 
On May 19th, 1715, Pastor Sandel assisted at the laying 
of the foundation of St. David's Church, Radnor. After 
a sermon at a private house, a procession went to the 
church site and after prayer '' each one of the clergymen 
laid a stone." The Swedish Church was called ''a sis- 
ter of the English Church." When the English clergy 
sent letters to Queen or Parliament, or the Bishop of 
London, or to thp Society, the Swedish clergy signed 
them, and when the Swedish clergy went home the Eng- 
lish clergy signed testimonials for them. They received 
the Holy Communion from each other and administered 
the Sacrament to each other's communicants. Ought 
we not to learn a lesson in this and not go backward in 
relations with Sweden ? In parish vacancies English min- 
isters were called to assist. Dr. Clay says of the Swed- 
ish Church, ''They retained it (the Episcopate) not 



30 WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 

merely in name, but as seems to be well established, in 
the possession of the true Apostolical succession." The 
Swedish clergy signed a petition of the English clergy 
asking for a Bishop, in 1705. 

THE CLERGY. 

From 1696 to 1786 the Swedish Government sent 24 
clergymen to New Sweden, generally providing an out- 
fit and meeting the expenses of the voyage out, and the 
return voyage when after faithful years of labor they 
were welcomed to pastorates in their native land. Dr. 
Reynolds thinks that the Swedish Government spent at 
least ;^ 100,000 on the churches here, and perhaps twice 
that amount. He refers to the historical sermon of the 
late Rev. O. Perinchief, rector of the Swedes' Church, 
Upper Merion, 1873. Money was then scarce and Swe- 
den was suffering frequently from financial embarrass- 
ment. The Thirty Years' War had brought the country 
almost to bankruptcy. 

Among the clergy And. Hesselius, Tobias E. Biorck 
, and Acrelius performed literary work. Biorck wrote a 
small quarto in Latin on the planting of the Swedish 
Church in America (Upsala, 1731). It was dedicated 
in English verse to Count Chas. Gyllenborg, a Swedish 
Senator and Chancellor of the University of Lund. 
Magister John Campanius Holm, Preceptor in the Or- 
phans' House in Stockholm, came with Governor Printz 
as government chaplain and pastor of the Swedish 
congregation. The party sailed on the ship Fama, 
while the ships Swan and Charitas accompanied this 
vessel. The father of Campanius was Jonas Peter, 
clerk of the congregation of St. Clara. Lawrence 
Charles Lockenius and Israel Holgh were sent to the 



WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 3 I 

colony in these times. Mr. Holgh soon returned to 
Sweden and became pastor in the island of Sokn, West 
Gothland. When Mr. Fabritius grew infirm the Swedes 
appealed to Sweden for more clergy and afterward to 
the Lutheran Consistory in Amsterdam. When Rud- 
man, Biorck and Auren arrived from Sweden they were 
well entertained by Governor Francis Nicholson of 
Maryland, and by Swedes in Maryland, who informed 
the Pennsylvania brethren of their arrival, who came 
''with tears of joy" to conduct them home. In this 
case the clergy chose their congregations. Mr. Rud- 
man having been first chosen had the first choice and 
settled upon Wicacoa, while Mr. Biorck took Tran- 
hook. Mr. Auren remained with Mr. Rudman some- 
time before he entered on his travels over the coun- 
try. 

In the company of Governor John Claudius Rising 
came a clergyman named Peter, who remained less 
than two years. No surname is given. In early days 
the Swedes and Danes had no surnames, but this case 
may be simply an omission in the chronicler. The 
Apostolic name is the only description of the man. The 
Swedish clergyman Matthias came in the fourth colony, 
in 1656, but returned to Sweden in two years. The 
Dutch had then taken possession of the colony and the 
Swedish Government were ignorant of it. Rev. John 
Campanius Holmensis was here six years, and studied 
the country and the Indians zealously. He had con- 
stant intercourse with these wild people. He returned 
to Sweden in 1648. And. Haquinius was appointed 
successor to Biorck, but died before entering on the 
voyage to America. A student named Abelius Sels- 
koorn performed divine service for a time at Sandhook 
(New Castle). 



32 WICACOA AND WILMINGTON. 

Rev. John Eneberg was pastor of Wicacoa two years 
" after Provost Lidman's departure," and became pas- 
tor of Christina in 1733. He was unmarried, and 
lived in the houses of the Swedes. In 1742 he re- 
turned to Sweden. Rev. Peter NordenHnd was a min- 
ister who arrived before Acrehus's departure. Rev. 
John Sandin assumed the care of Racoon and Penns- 
neck in 1748. The joy of the people in receiving their 
new pastor after a vacancy of five years was soon 
clouded, for in six months *'he fell asieep in the Lord." 
He labored to instruct the people, and all loved him. 



WILMINGTON. 33 



CHAPTER III. 

Wilmington, 
lay-readers and teachers. 

IN a vacancy at Tinicum the ag-ed Anders Bengtson 
read in church, Moller's Postilla ("sermons on the 
Gospels.") At Tranhook, Charles Christopher 
Springer was a faithful lay-reader who kept the church 
records. Hans Stalt, a Swedish schoolmaster in New 
Jersey under Biorck, used to' read Postilla on Sundays 
when the people could not go to church at Christina. 
Sven Colsberg was a schoolmaster '' on the Christina 
side." Springer was a Swede who was forcibly carried 
on board a ship at London and sold in Virginia for five 
years' service, but found his way northward at the end 
of that time. He died in 1738, aged 80, and was buried 
in the church yard. His son Charles succeeded him as 
vestryman. John Coding taught at various points in 
the Christina parish, under Rev. And. Hesselius, and 
had good success in instructing the children in Christian 
truth. Nicholas Forsberg also instructed the youth in 
Christian doctrine in Acrelius's day. 

Reorus Torkillus. — When Peter Minuit, after Queen 
Christina had succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus, 
came with his colony to the Delaware, Rev. Reorus 
Torkillus, from East Gothland, was the clergyman of 
these emigrants. He died in Fort Christina, September 
7th, 1643, aged 35. He had been a professor in a Got- 
tenberg college. He married here and had one child. 
He was the first Swedish clergyman at Christina. 



34 WILMINGTON. 

Trankook (Cranehook) Church was standing at Chris- 
tina in 1697 when Mr. Biork arrived here. It had been 
in use since 1667. In 1699 it was last used for Divine 
service. There was a burial ground at the place. John 
Stalcop gave the ground for the new stone church, which 
was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, being called Trinity 
Church, and for a long time the annual commemoration 
was kept. Here the Sivedish customs were ,still ob- 
served and "bridal pairs came to the services in church 
with crowns and garlands." Four hornblende rocks, 
the corner-stones of Crane Hook Church, remained to 
mark its site. 

The Jersey people who crossed the Delaware River in 
boats to attend service in Tranhook Church were some- 
times kept away by the dangerous condition of the 
river, especially in winter; but it was a pretty picture 
on a pleasant summer day to see the old and young in 
Swedish attire coming in their boats from Jersey and 
from New Castle and Brandywine Hundred ; and when 
the simple services closed there was many an inquiry as 
to family, health, and the condition of cattle and crops, 
and the last letter from dear old Sweden, months on its 
way, when daily or weekly papers were unknown. 
Sometimes tears fell on a new-made grave. If the old 
tale of love was whispered in the church yard it was 
sanctified by the place. The companies returned home 
refreshed by the services and the association with dear 
friends as heavenly delights. 

WILMINGTON. 

Miss Elizabeth Montgomery's '' Reminiscences of 
Wilmington " was written in the author's old age, and 
is remarkable for its constant pious references to texts 
of Scripture as bearing on local history, and its hopeful 



WILMINGTON. 35 

view of a future life as it records the passing away 
of a generation of old friends. Would that Christian 
historians generally could oftener thus acknowledge 
God's hand. The heathen writers loaded their narra- 
tives with mythology ; shall we be less religious than 
they ? Miss Montgomery's volume is very vivid and 
interesting. She was a churchwoman and dearly loved 
Old Swedes' Church in Wilmington. In speaking of 
an early Swedish colonist, she says : '' In old age he 
set his house in order, trimmed his lamp and waited for 
the messenger to guide him to a peaceful home." A 
female of the Stille family, of Swedish descent, is de- 
scribed in her 84th year as regularly walking over three 
miles to church. In 1849, the Rev. Gustaf Unonius 
(of the Swedish Church in Chicago, where I once heard 
him preach in Swedish, he now officiates in Stockholm,) 
visited Wilmington, and was the first Swede who had 
preached there since Rev. Lawrence Girelius left in 1791. 
In Trinity Chapel he was much struck by the appearance 
of a wealthy farmer whose dress and manner seemed to 
take the clergyman back to Sweden. The Swedes long 
strove to retain their old customs. They were amiable 
and noted for integrity. Miss Montgomery introduced 
to the aged Joseph Springer the infant Cora Monges of 
the sixth generation in the maternal line from the old 
Swedish rector of Trinity Church, Rev. Petrus Tran- 
berg, whom Mr. Springer remembered. The old man 
took the child in his arms and his "eyes flashed with 
joy." He then told how in winter snows his mother 
and father on horseback would ride to the old Swedes' 
Church and sit in church without fire. He would ride 
on one of the horses behind his father. He well re- 
membered the pastoral visits of Mr. Tranberg to their 
family. The pastor would sit on a wooden block at the 



36 WILMINGTON. 

corner of the immense fire-place in damp weather, 
drying his feet while his host talked with him, seated on 
another block, about the fatherland, in Swedish. Mr. 
Springer died aged 92 years, and was buried in the 
Swedes' cemetery. 

It is said that when the church was built women car- 
ried sand in their aprons to help the workmen. 

At the dedication of Trinity Church, Wilmington, 
Rev. Mr. Biork writes thus to Hon. Charles Wystrom : 
"Mr Rudman and I were clad in white surplices, made 
after our manner as well as could be done, but other 
church vestments could not be procured here. The 
Rev. Mr. Auren preached afterward at the celebration 
of the Lord's Supper, where we made a collection of 
about two hundred dollars." 

Acknowledgment is due to Mr. E. F. James for the 
use of the accompanying engraving of Old Swedes' 
Church, Wilmington. 

The Rev. Mr. Tranberg's widow long survived him. 
His only son Andreas was an army officer and was 
buried at Old Swedes'. 

Rev. Dr. Charles Breck, formerly rector of Trinity 
Church, Wilmington, wrote Dr. Clay that Henrietta M. 
Allmond gave money by will to repair Old Swedes*" 
Church, which had not been in condition for use. It 
was re-opened in 1842. It was again repaired in 1S56 
by "the great liberality of the lamented Alexis I. 
Dupont." 

The Rev. Mr. Tranberg's well-built house stood over 
a century. "The workmanship was so superior that 
people came from New York and Philadelphia to see it, 
and his descendants occupied it to the fifth generation." 
The mantel once held carved figures and porcelain jars, 
while the walls contained portraits of Mr. and Mrs. 






I 



WILMINGTON. 3 7 

Tranberg. The mahogany high backed chairs, and 
*' tables with innumerable legs closely carved," and 
china cups from Sweden were remembered. 

Major Peter Jaquett was a Revolutionary officer who 
was buried in Old Swedes' cemetery. There lie also the 
remains of Bishop Alfred Lee and his wife. 

The Rev. Provost Lawrence Girelius was the last 
Swedish minister of Wilmington, and was a lovable 
man. He had a foreign accent, his aspect was vener- 
able, at funerals he was specially solemn. Peter Davis, 
a deserter from the Hessians, was his man-servant and 
sexton, and zealously guarded the church. He had 
many quaint ways and words. One Christmas he 
dusted a cedar in church with flour to represent snow. 
Mr. Girelius held Trinity Church twenty-three years and 
a half He left in 1791. Provision for his family de- 
manded a return to Sweden. He was a faithful and be- 
loved pastor and just before death dictated to his son a 
letter to his Wilmington congregation. He was chair- 
man of the Board of the W^ilmington Academy. One 
of the early General Conventions met in this Academy. 
Mr. Girelius ^preached in it to the Cincinnati Society of 
Delaware. 

Rev. Provost Andreas Borell was pastor in 1762. 
He died unmarried in 1767 or 1768. His death oc- 
curred on a Sunday morning. All the Swedish clergy 
were at his funeral. He was handsome and his manner 
very attractive. 

The Swedish Governor, Peter Minuit, died at Chris- 
tina and was buried there in 1641. 

The place where Fort Christina and the first church 
in the fort arose was a picturesque spot on the winding 
Christina creek, where steep rocks formed a quay for 
vessels. The rocks have been blasted. This was the 



$S WILMINGTON. 

home of Rebecca Hoffman, Miss Montgomery's mother, 
and annually she visited it and the church. The second 
church was built in 1667 during the British rule. This 
was Crane Hook Church. The Dutch often became 
members of the Swedish Church. To Old Swedes' 
Church came canoes, and batteaus, and in winter, sleds 
and jumpers, and horseback riders, and rough wagons. 
Once but one chair (chaise) came. Family wagons, 
phaetons and chariots were used in after years. Many 
formerly walked to church. There was a large congre- 
gation. 

It is noteworthy that Peter Brynberg, a printer o 
Swedish descent, had a book store in Wilmington and 
was one of the publishers of the American Prayer 
Book. 

CHURCH SERVICES AND MISSIONARY WORK. 

On Sundays there were two sermons, the first *' be- 
tween the first and second ringing of the bells, when a 
morning hymn was sung, or *0 God vi lofve tig,' 'We 
praise Thee O God.' " The sermon Avas on the cate- 
chism. At the second sermon-time, the first sermon was 
repeated and the people examined on what had been 
before said, the teacher going through the aisles. This 
was in summer. In short winter days a chapter of the 
Old Testament and one of the New Testament was read 
and explained. In the wide parish the clergyman 
preached in private houses in Pennypack, Amasland, 
Kalkonhook, and twice or thrice yearly at Manathanim, 
and once at Egg Harbor. 

Lars Lock, or Lockenius. — In Rev. Dr. William M. 
Reynolds's Introduction to Acrelius's New Sweden, 
which he translated from the Swedish, mention is made 
of the fact that from 1655 to 1693 the few Swedes left by 



WILMINGTOK. 39 

Rising, their last governor, by enrollment, were over 
600, Avhile doubtless many were not enrolled. He 
adds : ''These people still cherished the simple faith of 
their ancestors, and were very anxious to have the ser- 
vices of the church and a regular minister." 

Upon the overthrow of the Swedish administra- 
tion in 1655, one minister, Lars Lock, who had come 
to this country with Governor Printz in 1642, remained 
with them and continued to officiate until 1688, when he 
was removed by death, or "fell asleep in the Lord," as 
Springer expresses it. Acrelius describes him as God's 
instrument in sustaining the Swedish Churches. He 
held both Tinicum and Christina tvv^enty-two years, but 
finally was chiefly employed in the latter parish. In 
old age he became lame and could not do his clerical 
work. He left many honest Christian descendants in 
Repapo, who clung to the Swedish Church. The reader 
will notice the Latinizing of Lock's name, according to 
the fashion of the dav. In Sorincrer's letter to Post- 
master Thelin, he is styled Laurentius Caroli Lockenius. 
At Trankook, Lock *' calls himself Pastor Loci." The 
tendency to Latinize may be seen in the names of other 
Swedish pastors. Lock ''was the only one who re- 
mained in the country and took care of the poor and 
scattered Swedes, preaching at Tenakong and Fort 
Christina until tlie day of his death." He ministered to 
Swedes and Hollanders. 



4o WICACOA CLERGY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WicACOA Clergy. 

JACOBUS FABRITIUS.— In A.D., 1677 Rev. Jacob, 
or James, Fabritius was called to aid Mr. Lock in 
the growing population from what is now Philadel- 
phia to Wilmington and New Castle in Delaware, 
and Salem in New Jersey. He officiated mostly in the 
Dutch language, which the Swedes appear to have 
learned during the ten years of Dutch power, before 
the Duke of York took the " Netherlands territory from 
the North (Hudson) to the South (Delaware) rivers, in 
in 1644." Fabritius worked until he became too old 
for service. He was a native of Germany, or, some 
thoucrht, of Poland. He was called from New York. 
He could hold service in the Swedish tongue. *' His 
first sermon was delivered at Wicacoa on Trinity Sunday 
of the year 1677. Five years afterwards he had the 
misfortune to become blind, and continued so until the 
time of his death, which was nine years later." He is 
thought to have served two years longer than this. He 
strove to care for the congregation, notwithstanding his 
bodily infirmity. He lived in Kensington, which was 
then above Philadelphia, and went by canoe to Wicacoa 
and Tranhook Church (Wilmington), and even to Mary- 
land. When he walked a person went before him with 
a staff, leading him. As Lock was lame and Fabritius 
blind, the people were served by those who could sym- 
pathize with their pains of body. Springer's letter 
touchingly says of Fabritius : *'He is also an admirable 



WICACOA CLERGY. 4 1 

preacher, but, God's blessing on him, he is so aged, and 
has lost his sight for so long a time, yet he is one who 
has taught us God's pure and true word, and adminis- 
tered the holy sacraments among us." Rudman says 
he died in 1693 or 1694. Anders Bengsten then became 
lay reader. 

Provost Andreas Rudman. — Acrelius refers to Su- 
perintendent Andreas Rudman's manuscript in the 
Wicacoa Church-Book as an aid to his history. Rud- 
man collected information from the oldest American 
Swedes. In the mission of three clergy, in 1696, An- 
drew Rudman, of Gestricia, " a district in the Province 
of Norrland, candidate for the Degree in Philosophy," 
was the one first called. He pressed the building of 
Gloria Dei Church so zealously as to pledge the best 
articles in his house for money to further the building. 
''Castleman's Adventures" relates that he worked in 
the erection of the church to pay his subscription by 
labor. His health was poor, and he begged his friend, 
Andrew Sandel, to come from Sweden to assist him. 
He served the Dutch in Albany, N. Y., for a time, but 
returned to Philadelphia and held the English church 
at Oxford (Trinity) for years, and also the English 
church (Christ Church) in Philadelphia, until he died in 
1708. He was buried in Wicacoa Church, ** a long pro- 
cession of English and Swedes " attending the funeral. 
Pastor Biorck preached from Ps. 73: 24, *'Thou shalt 
guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me 
to glory." The faithful clergyman chose this text him- 
self for his own funeral. He had been in America 
eleven years, and was not forty years old. His wife "was 
of the Mattson family, and two daughters, Gertrude 
and Anna Catharina Rudman," survived him. He mar- 
ried in this country. Some of his relati\'es are now 



42 WICACOA CLERGY. 

living in this land, Mats Mattson, fathcl'-in-law of Mr. 
Rudman, built the first house at Gloucester, N. J., where 
the Dutch had had their Fort Nassau. 

Provost Andrew Saxdel (provost in 1714, died at 
Hedemora, Sweden, 1744.) — Andrew Sandel, of Upsala, 
was a theological student who was ordained by Bishop 
Eric Bei>zelius. In London, on his journey to Americn, 
the President, Mr. Leyoncrona, received him kindl}', 
being always glad to aid the Swedish missionaries. 
Sandel succeeded Rudman at Gloria Dei, where he 
labored faithfully seventeen years, beloved and respected, 
and was remembered reverently "by children and chil- 
dren's children " after death closed his earthly toil. San- 
del returned to Sweden in 1719. After his departure 
Mr. Arvid Hernbom alternated for a time with Hessel- 
ius and Lidenius in the services at Gloria Dei. 

Justus Falkxer. — This German student was ordained 
by Rudman, Biorck and Sandel in 1703, and **had a 
congregation of Germans in Falkner's Swamp " (Pa.), 
which was named from him. He was a Lutheran minis- 
ter. The Swedish clergy did not generally ordain, as 
they had bishops. 

Provost Rev. Jonas Lidman succeeded Sandel at 
Wicacoa. His commission was dated 1719. "He was 
the first who brought a wife from Sweden." He lived 
lovingly with his people. In his time the church build- 
ing was improved. He returned to Sweden in 1730, and 
gave the care of the parish to Jno. Eneberg, "who was then 
preaching for the Germans," and in 1733 had the pastor- 
ship of Christina. He. returned to Sweden in 1742. 

Rev. Gabriel Falk succeeded Lidman, having the 
Royal Commission of King Frederick I. He bore a letter 
to the Bishop of London and to the Propagation Society^ 
Bishop Swedberg desired the people to "receive him as 



V/ICACOA CLERGY. 43 

an angel of the Lord of hosts." He was kindly received, 
and was zealous and edifying, catechizing the people at 
their homes. He was pastor in 1733. 

Rev. John Dylaxder received the Royal Commission 
as pastor of Wicacoa, May 17th, 1737. John Malan- 
der a student of theology, accompanied him. The new 
pastor was well fitted for his office and loved by his 
flock. He also preached in German for the Germans in 
Philadelphia, Germantown and Lancaster. He some- 
times preached in the English church (Christ Church). 
This good man died in 1741. Pastor Peter Tranberg 
preached his funeral sermon. " A great multitude of 
people" were present. " All laid this tribute of praise 
upon his grave : That he was a chosen teacher for the 
church, an ornament of his order, an honor to his coun- 
trymen, and an aftectionate husband to his widow, the 
daughter of Peter Kock, of Passayungh." 

Rev. Gabriel Xaesmax reached Philadelphia in 1743. 
He had charge of Wicacoa, but preached at \-arious 
places throughout the country. He Avas faithful in visit- 
ing the sick and attending malefactors in prison. After 
traveling in the West Indies and in Europe Mr. Naes- 
man returned to Sweden in 1751, where his wife, Mar- 
garetta Rambo, joined him. " He had the character and 
honor of a professor bestowed upon him," and was ap- 
pointed pastor of Christianstad, in Skane. 

Provost Olavus Parlix, formerly chaplain to the 
royal counsellor, Count Thure Bielke, was commissioned 
for American Mission work in 1749, and sailed in 1750. 
He gained the confidence of the \Vicacoa parish, being 
prudent and seeking the spiritual interests of his hear- 
ers, adapting himself to their understanding, and being 
agreeable and edifying in his intercourse. He drew 
many to the Church, and insisted on "the proper use of 



44 WICACOA CLERGY. ^ 

the Holy Sacraments, and especially of the Lord's Sup- 
per." He died in 1757, " ^o the deep sorrow of his 
wife, Elizabeth Tranberg, and his two children, Peter 
and Anna Catharina." The widow was the daughter 
of Rev. Peter Tranbcrg. He is buried in the chancel 
of Gloria Dei Church. 

Provost Carolus Magnus Von Wrangel, D.D. — 
This clergyman was a very interesting and efficient man. 
He was made provost in 1759, and labored about nine 
years, returning in 1768. He was of the distinguished 
family of General Von Wrangel, who was in Gustavus 
Adolphus's army. He had studied at Westeras and 
Upsala, in Sweden, and at the German University of 
Gottingen, where he obtained the doctorate in divinity, 
and was court preacher in the royal chapel in Stockholm 
when Archbishop Samuel Troilius asked him to go to 
the American mission. He was active and influential 
here, and reorganized the churches. ** He published in 
Dr. Franklin's printing office a translation of Luther's 
Shorter Catechism into English." He was zealous in 
instructing the young. He '* gave the first impulse to 
the establishment of the Society for the Faith and 
Christianity in Sweden." Dr. Muhlenberg entertained 
him at The Trappe, and says, " I was greatly moved by 
his mild and humble manners and edified by his weighty 
conversation relative to the kingdom of God." Muh- 
lenberg also visited him at Wicacoa and joined in the 
Ministerial Convention. Dr. Von Wrangel preached 
on ''The Importance of the Holy Supper, after which," 
Muhlenberg adds, "we made confession and received 
absolution." Provost Von Wrangel also preached a 
sermon in Swedish on Ps. 126: 5, "They that sow in 
tears shall reap in joy." The Holy Supper was received 
"with deep solemnity." The provost's "unspeakable 



WICACOA CLERGY. 45 

care and toil" to repair the church's ''outward hedge" 
and to guard it against attacks (Ps. 80) amidst suffering 
and victory, were shown in his report. He commended 
pastoral visiting and catechizing, and desired that the 
holy sacraments should be extolled in an evangelical 
manner, saying that he purposed to explain Christ's life 
in "private meetings and catechetical exercises with the 
children." Von Wrangel could preach in Swedish, 
German and English, and addressed the candidates for 
the ministry in Latin. He laid the corner-stone of St. 
James's Church, Kingsessing, in 1760. He caused that 
church and Christ Church, Upper Merlon, to be set off 
as distinct parishes from WIcacoa, with the erection of 
churches for each parish. Such crowds attended his 
eloquent preaching that he sometimes preached in the 
open air. He went back to Sweden in 1768 and died in 
1786. 

Rev. Mr. Georgeson, In 1774, was in the Swedish 
churches, and had Rev. Charles Lute as assistant. He 
is mentioned by Br. Clay and Miss Montgomery. 

Rev. Andreas Goranson was sent hither in 1766, 
assuming charge of WIcacoa Church in 1767 or 1768. 
He returned In 1785 and died In 1800. This clergyman 
officiated until 1779. 

Rev. Matthias Hultgreen was pastor from 1780 to 
1786. Professor C. J. Stille writes me that he found in 
Stockholm a report made by this clergyman to the 
Archbishop of Upsala. 

Provost Dr. Nicholas Collin w^as sent to America 
in 1770, and officiated at Swedesborough, N. J. In 1786 
he became rector of WIcacoa and its associated parishes, 
which he held forty-five years. He married 3,375 cou- 
ples, making an average of about 84 annually, though 
in the beginning of his ministry the average was greater. 



46 WICACOA CLERGY. 

In 1795 he married 199 couples and the next year 179. 
Park McFarland, Jr., a vestryman of Old Swedes' 
Church (Gloria Dei), Philadelphia, has copied these 
marriage records and those of other rectors from 1750 
to 1863 with great toil, and had them printed in four 
pamphlets. He feared their loss in manuscript, but the 
church has now wisely built a safe in the porch. These 
are some of the most valuable church records in this 
country. Mr. INIcFarland also copied the record of bap- 
tisms and funerals. Dr. Collin noted the cause of death, at 
least in some cases. When he declined to marry he gave 
quaint notes of his reasons. I\Ir. McFarland well com- 
pares the record to what might have been made at Gretna 
Green. An aged lady told me that she went one even- 
ing to be married by the old rector, but as he came out 
to meet the bridal party he stumbled and fell over some 
bricks or debris in the rectory yard, and the gentlemen 
took him into the house, while the young bride sought 
the services of Rev. Joseph Turner elsewhere. The Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania conferred the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity on Nicholas Collin. He was a learned man, es- 
pecially in the languages. He died October 7th, A.D., 
1S31, at Wicacoa, in his eighty-seventh year. Dr. Collin 
constantly used the Episcopal Prayer-Book, and his 
assistant ministers were Episcopal clergymen. As the 
doctor served Kingsessing and Lower ^Merion he used to 
ride to these points on an old gray pony called ** Tidy," 
and he kindly allowed it to take its own slow gait. Once 
he was thrown into the Schuylkill at Bridgeport by the 
lying down of the horse. He was beloved by children, 
"vvho found his pockets stored with candy for their de- 
light. The doctor was sensitive about his age. A 
young gentleman once asked his age at table ; the 
clergyman made no reply. He asked again and received 








IV ^^ 



jf. P<ALi4t s>.3} 



WICACOA CLERGY. 49 

the answer, " Old enough to die." Once in baptizing a 
curly-headed boy the doctor compared him to an angel, 
and painters take children's faces for cherubs, and per- 
haps the angels who behold the Father's face above are 
near the little ones on earth. 

Dr. Collin at one time announced each Sunday for 
three months that he would read an old document, 
and then read the names of those indebted for pew rents 
for twenty years, many of whom were present, simply 
closing with the words of Scripture, "Render unto 
Caesar the things that be Caesar's." At Swedesborough, 
N. J., Anthony Wayne once spent a night at the doctor's 
house, and the colored man-servant entered the Gen- 
eral's room at night and told him the British were com- 
ing. Wayne departed, leaving his sword, and Dr. Col- 
lin was seized and carried away, but claimed that he 
was a subject of Sweden and was released. 

In the Pennsylvania Magazine of History, July, i8SS, 
pp. 253-55, is a Parochial Letter to the Swedish Churches 
in Pennsylvania, donated to the Historical Society by 
Dr. Alfred Stille. It begins : '' Beloved in God, whereas 
it may please the Father of our immortal spirits to call 
me before I can convene a meeting of you, I deem it a 
conscientious duty to impress this solemn charge on 
your mind." He speaks of '' the mixture of nations 
and religious denominations in this part of America " 
and "the gradual extinction of the SAvedish language." 
There is an earnest exhortation to a more religious and 
moral life, which he thinks his eleven years of work in 
preaching and conversation has helped to advance. 
"The Godly and generous zeal of some pastors and the 
solicitude of" ancestors had provided an estate to sup- 
port divine worship, which Dr. Collin asked should be 
faithfully administered as by stewards of God. He 



50 WICACOA CLERGY. 

wishes the people to have a Swedish clergyman, and 
speaks of Danish and Norwegian sailors, and others 
from those countries, as frequenting the Swedish church 
in Philadelphia, as being similar to those in their coun- 
tries. Two American ministers, he thinks, would suf- 
fice the three congregations for the present. When 
vacant lots of land became Valuable he recommends the 
purchase of glebes *'in Kingsess, and even in Upper 
Merion after a convenient period, as a clergyman must 
live among the people in order to be most useful." He 
writes ''in the deepest affliction for the loss" of^his 
wife, who died two days before the letter was penned, 
" in the language of affection and zeal " to his parish- 
ioners, on whom he prays that God's blessing may rest. 
The long epistle is signed, Yr. faithful friend and servant, 
Nicholas Collin, and dated Philadelphia, the ist of 
October, 1797. Mrs. Collin died of yellow fever, and 
was buried in the Old Swedes' churchyard. 

There is a manuscript letter in the Pennsylvania His- 
torical Society Library, written in a bold and clear, but 
irregular hand, by Dr. Collin to the Moravian missionary, 
Pleckewelder, at Bethlehem, Pa., asking him to send him 
some seeds of the sugar-maple tree. About 1832 an obitu- 
ary memoir of Dr. Collin was read in the Philosophical 
Society, as Aubrey H. Smith, Esq., informs me. He 
has also given me further aid in this work. When the 
doctor was eighty years old his mind and body were 
sound, and he was " performing his duties to the general 
satisfaction." His death occurred October 7th, 183 1, 
at his rectory. He was a vice-president of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society, and one of the founders of 
the Society ** for the commemoration of the landing of 
William Penn." "With his death ended the Swedish 
missions in this country." I notice Dr. Collin's name 



I 



WICACOA CLEKG\\ 5 I 

frequently in the reports of the Philosophical Society as 
in attendance. Bishop White was a member. 

Once a year the doctor preached in Swedish at King- 
sessing. His English was broken. The nave of St. 
James's Church has echoed to his voice. Its corner- 
stone was laid in 1760. The date on the tablet is 1762. 
The stone horse-blocks yet stand as relics of a former 
day in the ample churchyard. Formerly two rows of 
square windows marked the church wall. In an altera- 
tion two windows were made into one. 

The picture of Dr. Collin, which accompanies this 
sketch, was drawn by Rev. Dr. H. J. Morton, from Dr. 
Clay's description. Dr. Morton never saw him, and Dr. 
Collin did not wish to have his picture taken. Mr. 
Thomas Sparks, who was a relative of the Swedish 
divine, and Rev. Dr. Abercrombie and Bishop White 
recognized the likeness at once. The picture now 
appears by the courteous permission of Park McFar- 
land, Jr. 

Copies of the works of Campanius and Acrelius, in 
Swedish, are at the Ridgway Library. 



52 DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY 



CHAPTER V. 

Delaware and New Jersey Clergy. 

PROVOST ERIC BJORK.— (The varied spelling 
of proper names has been purposely retained.)^ 
Mr. Rudman selected Eric Bjork as his fellow- 
laborer. Trinity church, Wilmington, was built largely 
by his toilsome efforts, and that of his church warden, 
Charles Springer. The church was consecrated on 
Trinity Sunday, A.D., 1699. Mr. Bjork also built the 
rectory. He worked zealously and prudently, ''scraping 
together" money needed for his work. John Stalcop gave 
the land for the church and churchyard. Bjork returned 
to Sweden in 17 14, taking his American wife, whose 
maiden name was Christina Stalcop (being the daughter 
of Peter Stalcop), and five children. That was the first 
American family given back to Sweden.' He died in 
1 740. Bjork closed his well-kept church-book with some 
lines. I add a portion of them : 

"Grant now, O Lord, our God, Cnristina Church thy blessing, 
That there may n^ver fail souls thy rich love possessing ; 
Her shepherds grant thy grace, her sheep do thou so guard, 
That with thy flock in heaven they have their great reward." 

He closes thus : 

" But Christ is all my trust, my everlasting song." 

Provost Andreas Hesselius reached here in 1712, 
and in 17 13 took charge of Christina. He exhorted 
the people to a regard for baptism and the Lord's Sup- 
per, and stirred up the vestry to oversee the lives of the 
flock. He served the En<jlish at St. James's Church, 



DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 53 

Stanton, monthly, and the English Propagation Society 
agreed to give him a stipend if he would do some work- 
in vacant churches in Pennsylvania. He labored with 
the Indians who were among the Swedes. In 1723 he 
was recalled. After his return to Sweden he published 
a book on ''The Swedish Church in America." He 
died in 1733. 

Samuel Hesselius. — This clergyman was assistant 
minister at Wicacoa. He was ordained in the cathedral 
ofSkarain 17 18. For a tim^e he officiated and resided at 
what is supposed to have been Molatton (now Morlatton), 
or Douglassville, in Berks County. In 1760 George 
Douglass was a vestryman here. An old church (St. Ga- 
briel's) long drew the attention of the railway traveler. 
The Reverend John Long of late years erected a new 
one. Rev. Edward J. Koons has just resigned its rec- 
torship. The people of this parish tearfully besought 
Hesselius to come to them. The present rector, Rev. 
W. Du Hamel, gave an interesting history of this parish 
in the Standard of the Cross, Febuary 15th, A.D., 1S90. 
Rev. Gabriel Falk was the first regular pastor from 1735 
to 1740; Rev, Henry Muhlenberg gave some care to the 
parish, Rev. Alex. Murray, an English Missionary, Rev. 
Jno. Wade, Rev. Jno. Armstrong, and Rev. Levi Bull, 
D.D., Rev. Caleb Good, Rev. George Mintzer, Rev. 
Wm. Homman, Rev, H. F. Whitesides, and Rev. Messrs. 
George Barker, Oliver Shaw, Edward Jones and Edmund 
Leaf preceded Rev. John Long in the rectorship. This 
clergyman also served Matzony (Matson's Ford), now 
Conshohocken, with the other parish. In 1723 he was 
transferred to Christina, to succeed his brother Andrew. 
He was in America till 1731, and died in 1755. 

Rev. Peter Tranberg came hither in 1726, and had 
the care of Racoon and Pennsneck, but in 1739 was 



54 DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 

transferred to Christina. His New Jersey parishes 
regretted his loss, but the English and Swedes welcomed 
him to Christina. He had mastered the English language, 
and officiated at St. James's English Church, Stanton, 
Delaware, and St. John's, Concord, Pa., and Marlborough, 
Pa., and otherplaces. This " pious and meek" and warm- 
hearted man, after twenty-two years of labor in this 
country, after attending " the funeral of a married pair" 
at Pennsneck, was " taken deadly sick in the house of 
the deceased, and four days thereafter fell asleep in the 
Lord, in the same place, on the 8th of November, 1748." 
At the funeral, in Christina Church, the English mis- 
sionary, George Ross, preached. He was " the oldest 
minister in the country." A Swedish sermon was 
preached by Rev. Gab. Naesman, *' at that time the only 
Swedish minister left in the country." A stone in the 
church covers the body of Mr. Tranberg. Acrelius 
added some verses to the close of Mr. Tranberg's 
church record in memory of this indefatigable man. 
They were versified by Malcolm Maceuen. The fol- 
lowing is a portion : 

*' How happy he who yields his breath, 
Secure of triumph over death, 
Who thro' the faith that Jesus gave 
Can gladly sink into the grave. 

When the chief Shepherd shall appear, 
To call him from his labor here. 
Is he not happier, labor done, 
Than one whose toil has just begun? " 

Mr. Tranberg " had been loved by all, because he 
had ministered to all." He was buried in the aisle of 
Christina Church, near the pulpit. A poetic inscription 
closes thus : 



i 



DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY 5 7 

"To hazard health, nay, hfe and pleasure too, 
His Lord's command with ardor to pursue. 
For which he rests with God, in bliss to be 
Freed from this world to all eternity." 

His son Peter, a lad of nine years, is buried with him. 
Elsewhere a reference is made to another son as his 
only one, but perhaps this relates to the time of the 
death of the one last named. 

Provost Israel Acrelius (sent to America in 1749). 
— Acrelius is distinguished as the author of the *' His- 
tory of New Sweden," which is longer than that of 
Campanius, and the last-named author did not visit this 
country. Dr. Collin translated a large part of this work 
for Rev. Dr. Samuel Miller, of Princeton, N. J., to aid in 
his Church History. It was published by the New York 
Historical Society. The Rev. Dr. William M. Rey- 
nolds made a complete translation for the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania, which has been largely used in 
these notes. Joseph F. Mickley, John Jordan, Jr., and 
Townsend Ward, all of the Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania, gave valuable aid in carrying out the literary 
part of the work. AcreHus dedicated it to Queen Louisa 
Ulrica. He utilized the labors of Campanius and 
others in his book. The Provost, Rev. Dr. William 
Smith, of the Philadelphia Academy, gave AcreHus a 
letter to Dr. Seeker, then Bishop of Oxford, afterward 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Acrelius lived until 1800 ; the patriarch died in Swe- 
den at the age of eighty-six. ** He sent his portrait to 
the widow of Petrus Tranberg, his predecessor ; " it is 
now the property of Trinity Church, Wilmington, and 
was engraved for the History, and by the courtesy of 
Mr. Frederick D. Stone, Librarian of the Historical 
Society, has been reproduced for these articles. 



58 DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. ^ 

The dedication of the History refers to "the churches 
among which, in a service of eight years, he offered up 
the powers of his life amid laborious official duties, 
toilsome journeys, and the endurance of severe sick- 
ness." Acrelius was appointed pastor of Racoon and 
Pennsneck, but after Mr. Tranberg's death was trans- 
ferred to Christina before leaving Sweden. We find 
him giving an oration to the clergy, at a meeting in 
Germantown, in Latin, "on the unity of the spirit in 
the bond of peace," Eph. 4 : 3. He prepared, in Latin, 
a narrative of the history of the German Evangelical 
congregations in Pennsylvania and " adjacent countries." 
He left to return to Sweden in 1756, with "mutual 
tears" of pastor and people. Pie was much beloved. 
He preached his farewell sermon in six places, and the 
people followed him in large numbers. He became 
pastor of " P'ellingsbro, in the Diocese of Westeras." 
He had been " Preacher Extraordinary to the Admir- 
alty " before he came to this country. Acrelius is said 
to have recorded more marriages than any other Swed- 
ish clergyman in Wilmington. Rev. G. C. Bird, rector 
of Marcus Hook, Pa., informs me that Acrelius and 
other Swedish clergy are on his church records as hav- 
ing performed services in that parish for a time. 

Rev. Eric Uxander was pastor in Racoon and Penns- 
neck, and became pastor in Christina. He arrived in 
Philadelphia in 1749. He was gladly received in 
Racoon, and was adapted for his work and loved by the 
people. Pie had an extended parish, and was obliged to 
preach both in Swedish and English almost every Sun- 
day, while he also catechized private families, and labored 
for " the English congregation in Salem," and the peo- 
ple on Timber Creek on weekdays. He toiled dili- 
gently, even when sick, and "did not eat the bread of 
idleness." In 1755 he was transferred to Christina. 



DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 6l 

Jonas Auren. — This clergyman was added to the 
company of Rudman & Biorck by the King's (Chas. XL) 
order. He was to make a map of the new country, and 
describe its character and inhabitants. He remained 
some time with Mr. Rudman before traveling. Auren 
came in 1696. Charles XI. died and the wars of 
Charles XH. followed, and he was kept here ministering 
at Elk River, Maryland, and Racoon, N. J., and as an 
Indian missionary in Conestoga, Pa. He died in 17 13. 

Rev. Abraham Lidenius came in 1712 as ''assistant 
at all the congregations." He served first at Christina. 
He became pastor at Racoon and Pennsneck. He 
returned to Sweden in 1724, and died in 1728. His son, 
John Abraham, came back to this his native country 
and assisted Mr. Unander in these Jersey parishes and 
officiated elsewhere, and in 1752 went to reside at Man- 
athanim. He died in Pennsylvania. 

Professor Peter Kalm. — The student of American 
history finds the Rev. Professor Peter Kalm one of the 
most interesting of the early travelers who have recorded 
impressions of this new land. He was a distinguished 
naturalist and a professor in the University of Abo, in 
Finland, then a part of Sweden. He labored for a time 
in the Swedish mission in New Jersey. There was a 
little romance in that work. The widow of Rev. John 
Sandin was living in that strange land with two infant 
children. The professor passed from pity on to love, 
and served the vacant parish, and married the widow, 
and carried her back to her own country. The parish 
where the professor was a guest was that of Racoon 
Church, now Swedesboro. The marriage took place in 
Philadelphia in February, 1750. The professor traveled 
a year afterward, spending three years in this country. 
He wrote two volumes useful for science and history. 
4 



62 DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 

The universities of Abo and Upsala, and ** the Depart- 
ment of Manufactures of the Diet of the Kingdom," 
sent him to discover seeds and plants and transfer them 
to Sweden." Acrelius styles him, "the celebrated 
Professor Kalm," and ''that learned man." 

Rev. John Wicksell succeeded Abraham Lidcnius 
as rector of Swedesborough and Pennsneck in 1762. 
He was zealous for the temporal and spiritual concerns 
of his parish, and caused a rectory to be built at Swedes- 
borough, and the land to be improved, and interested 
himself " for the charity school-house." He returned 
in 1774, and died A.D., 1800. 

The vine planted by the Swedish Church centuries ago 
still bears precious fruit to the glory of God in Christ. 
Christ Church, Bridgeport, on the Schuylkill (Upper 
Merion), has long been faithfully served by the present 
rector. Rev. A. A. Marple. Trinity parish, Wilmington, 
has two church buildings, under the rectorship of Rev. 
H. Ashton Henry. The assistant. Rev. Martin B, Dunlap, 
jias special charge of Old Swedes' Church, which the rail- 
way traveler may see from the car windows shortly be- 
fore reaching the Wilmington depot, on the right hand 
in going from Philadelphia to that city. Swedesboro 
(Trinity) Church is under the pastoral care of Rev. 
Dr. George W. Watson. Rev. C. M. Perkins, rector of 
Salem, N. J., adds to the cares of that parish the over- 
sight of St. George's Church, Pennsville, formerly 
styled Pennsneck. 

The writer of these sketches gladly endeavors to per- 
petuate the fact that Sweden kindly handed these dis- 
tant children over to the care of the American Episco- 
pal Church. If Sweden had sent Bishops hither before 
England did the reciprocity might have been more visi- 
ble between Swedish and English churches, and we can 
hardly imagine w^hat would have been the result. 



DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 6^ 

Rev. Dr. Jehu Curtis Clay was the son of Rev. 
Slator and Hannah (Hughes) Clay, born February 3d, 
A.D., 1792, in Upper Providence, Montgomery County, 
Pa. He was elected rector of Gloria Dei Church in 
December, 1831, and entered on his work in January, 
1832. He died in the rectory October 20th, 1863, holding 
the post nearly thirty-two years. 

PoLSTADius was the first minister at Racoon and 
Pennsneck. He was drowned in the Delaware River 
in 1706. 

The following letter from Dr. Stevenson gives a pleas- 
ant account of the Swedish relations to an ancient church 
in New Jersey, while Judge John Clement's articles, 
which accompany it, contain an interesting delineation 
of-Swedish and English times in New Jersey, giving due 
credit to the religious work of the faithful Swedes and 
their zealous pastors. In an article entitled " Old Racoon," 
the Judge argues from the record of a deed of a fishery 
property opposite the Swedes' Church, that the first 
Racoon church was near the mouth of the creek of that 
name, and that the second one arose near a half century 
later, in A.D., 1702, where the ** King's road from Bur- 
lington to Salem crossed the creek about six miles from 
the river, where a rude bridge was built, it being near 
the head of navigation and where considerable traffic 
was carried on." This was afterwards Swedesboro. 
The article quoted appeared in the Woodbury ConstiUi- 
tioji, August 17th, A.D., 1887. 

Dr. Stevenson writes : " Your sketch of the clergy of 
New Sweden in the Standard of the Cross is of much 
historical interest, and induces me to send you articles 
upon the Swedes of New Jersey, written by the Hon. 
John Clement of this place. As they were only pub- 
lished in local newspapers you may not otherwise have 
access to them." 



64 DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY CLERGY. 

"In the last number, June 15th, of the Standard of 
the Cross, page n, is a notice of a service held at Coles- 
town Church, Camden County, N. J. This church was 
largely attended by the descendants of Swedes, who 
settled at the mouth of the Penisauken Creek, upon 
whose head-Waters the church stands. The three known 
oldest graves in its yard are of Swedish families, viz. : 
Philip Wallis and his wife, buried in 1746, Humphrey 
Day (Deay) and wife in 1760, and Elias Toy in 1762, 
all of whom lived on the Delaware where Palmyra now 
stands, or in its vicinity. 

"There does not appear to have been any church in 
the last-named place, as the settlement was small. John 
Rudderow, mentioned in the papers, was an English 
lawyer, and adherent of the Church of England. He 
settled in 1680 on the Penisauken, among the English 
Quakers, but alongside the Swedes. Holding services 
in his own house and being a man of education, wealth 
and influence^ he attracted the neighboring Swedes to 
attend them ; and, naturally, they became the staunchest 
friends of the organization which eventually built 
Colestown Church." 

Christ Church, Bridgeport, Pa., lies opposite Norris- 
town, and is also seen from the railroad. It has an 
ancient graveyard. The Sunday-school building is 
near, and the rectory is perched on a hill above, com- 
manding beautiful views towards Bryn Mawr. 



SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 65 



CHAPTER VI. 

Succession of Clergy in Gloria Dei Church. 

REV. JOHN LEADENHAM, assisted Dr. Clay 
before his death for some time, and became 
rector in A.D., 1863, after the doctor's demise, 
and held the position until 1865. Rev. John S. Reed 
was rector from 1865 to 1868. On December 13th, 1868, 
Rev. Snyder B. Simes became the fifteenth rector of 
this church, and now (^890) continues in the rectorship. 
See Rev. Dr. Reynold's note Acrelius's '* New Sweden," 
pp. 261-262. 

ASSISTANT MINISTERS. 

Rev. Charles Lute was appointed assistant to Rev. 
Andreas Georgeson in 1774. Rev. Joseph Clarkson was 
first assistant to Dr. Collin from 1787 to 1792. I suppose 
him to be the grandfather of Bishop Clarkson. Rev. 
Slator Clay was assistant in 1792, officiating monthly at 
Upper Merion (Bridgeport) and on fifth Sundays in the 
month at Kingsessing. He gave a part of his time to 
the Swedes, but served them until he died, in 1821. He 
was Rev. Dr. Clay's father. Rev. Joseph Turner, Rev. 
Dr. Prof Samuel H. Turner's father, began work as one 
of the assistants in 1792, and held the place many years. 
Rev. J. C. Clay, in 1813, soon after ordination, was as- 
sistant for a year, and then accepted a call to St. John's 
Church at Norristown and St. Luke's, Germantown. 
From 1816 to 1820 Rev. James Wiltbank was assistant 
minister. In 1820 Rev. M. B. Roche acted as assistant 



66 SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 

minister to the Swedes for six months. In 1822 Rev. 
J. C. Clay again became minister for Upper Merion 
(Christ Church,) still holding St. John's Church, Norris- 
town, and St. James's Church, Perkiomen. He also of- 
ficiated every fifth Sunday in the month at Kingsessing 
(St. James's). He continued to fill this station until 
called, in 1831, to the rectorship of Gloria Dei. In 1S17 
Dr. Clay had charge of the church and the academy in 
Newbern, North Carolina. In the four succeeding years 
the church at Hagerstown, Maryland, was under his 
care, when his father died, and he received a call to his 
father's church at Perkiomen, and was called a second 
time to Norristown. In 1822 Rev. Charles M. Depuy 
became assistant for Wicacoa and Kingsessing, continu- 
ing to act in this capacity until 1828. Rev. Pierce Con- 
nelly succeeded him, officiating chiefly at Kingsessing, 
though a portion of the time at Wicacoa, till the close 
of the year 1831, when he accepted a call to Natchez, 
Mississippi. Rev. Raymond A. Henderson was assist- 
ant to Rev. J. C. Clay in 1832, continuing in the churches 
until the close of 1834, when he was called to the French 
Protestant Church in New Orleans. Rev. John Reynolds 
assisted one year in Upper Merion. He received his 
appointment about the same time with Mr. Henderson. 
Rev. William Diehl and Rev. Samuel C. Brinckle suc- 
ceeded these two clergymen as assistants, and so re- 
mained until the separation of the parishes. See "Clay's 
Annals of the Swedes," pp. 177-179, and note on p. 178. 
Rev. Isaac Martin, M.D., is at present the assistant of 
Rev. Snyder B. Simes. 

The Rectors of Kingsessing since Dr. Clay are : 
Rev. S. C. Brinckle from A.D., 1842 to 1848; Rev. J. 
Brinton Smith from 18 — to 1S56 ; Rev. Charles A. Mai- 
son, D.D., from May ist, 1857, to the present time. Dr. 



« - 

» l-H 

r* r 
> o 

? H 
5? Z 





' * 



te^^„.^«««Z, 



-. — - — - 


-1 

1 

1 


TRINITY CHURCH, WILMINGTON. 





SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IX GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 67 

Maison communicated important information to Dr. 
Reynolds as to parish history, which may be found on 
p. 349 of Acrelius's " New Sweden." 

The Rectors of Christ Church, Upper Meriox, 
since its organization have been : Rev. Edwin L. Light- 
ner from 1844 to 1S55 ; Rev. William Henry Rees, D.D., 
from 1855 to 1861; Rev. Thomas S. Yocum from 1S61 
to 1870; Rev. Octavius Perinchief from 1870 to 1873; 
Rev. Edward A. Warriner, elected in September, 1873. 
See '* New Sweden," p. 350. George W. Holstein, then 
secretary of the vestry, a descendant of M. Holstein, 
one of the first Swedish settlers, gave Dr. Reynolds the 
above information. The clergy of this parish have a 
seat in Convention, but the laity are not members of that 
body. The Rev. A. A. Marple is now the rector, having 
succeeded the Rev. Mr. Warriner. 

Trinity Cfiurch, Wilmington, Del.-uvare. — Rectors 
succeeding Rev. Lawrence Girelius, the last pastor 
under the Swedish Mission : The Rev. Joseph Clarkson 
officiated from 1792 to 1799 ; Rev. William Pryce from 
1800 to 1802 ; Rev. William Wickes from 1814 to 1817; 
Rev. Levi Bull, D.D., from 1S18 to 1819 ; Rev. Richard 
D. Hall from 1819 to 1822 ; Rev. Pierce Connelly from 
1827 to 1828 ; Rev. Isaac Pardee from 1828 to 1835 ; 
Rev.Hiram Adams from 1835 to 1838; Rev. J.W. McCul- 
lough, D.D., from 1S3S to 1847 ; Rev. E. M. Van Deu- 
sen,D. D.,from 1S4S to 1852 ; Rev.Charles Breck, D.D., 
from 1853 to 1870; Rev. William J. Frost, D.D., from 

1871 to . See Acrelius, p. 313, note. I have not 

further dates; but Rev. Henry B. Martin, J\LD., suc- 
ceeded Dr. Frost, and Rev. H. Ashton Henry was the 
next rector, and is now in charge of the parish. 

Robert Shaw has made a beautiful drawing of Old 
Swedes' Church. It has a foreign look and is rustic in 



6S SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 

its city surroundings. The entrance gate is picturesque 
and the graveyard has a new interest as the burial-place 
of Bishop Lee, Delaware's first bishop. 

Dr. Horace Burr has written a work entitled ''Records 
of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes') Church, Wilmington," 
which he is now putting in press. It will be a valuable 
addition to local church history, 

Rev. S. C. Stratton was a Sunday-school teacher in a 
lecture-room in Hanover Street, Wilmington, before his 
ordination. This was the first attempt at Sunday- 
school teaching, in. this town. Rev. Samuel Brinckle 
was one of tlie teachers before he became a clergyman. 
On June 6th, 1818, a Sunday-school having fifty schol- 
ars was regularly organized, under the care of Re\'. 
Levi Bull, rector of this parish. It soon had 300 pupils, 
and was moved to the academy. The Latin teacher, 
Joseph Downing, invited it there and assisted on Sun- 
days. The academy has been demolished.,. Rev. Levi 
Bull taught some German girls in their own language, 
and had an interesting class. Miss Montgomery notes 
this. Dr. Bull was a large man, of fine presence, and 
a striking preacher. He died at his country home near 
St. Mary's Church, Warwick, Chester County, Pa., of 
which he was once rector. Trinity Chapel was moved 
to Delaware Avenue in Dr. Martin's rectorship. Mr. 
Henry is erecting a new church near the new chapel. 
Rev. William Murphy and Rev. Jesse Higgins have 
been assistants of Trinity Church, in charge of Old 
Swedes' Church. 

As St. John's, Wilmington, was a colony of Trinity 
.Church, the succession of clergy is given : Rev. Charles 
Breck, rector of Trinity Church, was also rector of St. 
John's, from Aug. 7th, 1855, to October 25th, 1858. Rev. 
Stevens Parker was rector from October 25th, 1858, to 




ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, WILMINGTON. 



SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 7 1 

September 28th, 1863. Rev. James Chrystal was assistant 
for a few months. Rev. Thomas G. Clemson had 
charge of the parish during ]\Ir. Parker's sickness 
and absence of about six months. Rev. Leighton 
Coleman was rector from November 29th, 1863, to No- 
vember 5th, 1866. Rev. T, Gardiner Littell, D.D., became 
rector December 2d, 1866, and continues to the present 
time. Rev. Edwin C. Alcorn was assistant from August 
25th, 1879, to September 28th, 1880. St. John's Church 
was erected in part by Alexis I. du Pont and family. 
Christ Church was, I believe, due to the interest of other 
members of the du Pont family for its erection. 

St. Andrew's Church was independent, but all our 
church work in Wilmington m.ay be traced back to the 
Swedes. Calvary Church was a colony of St. An- 
drew's. 

Bishop Lee preached a semi-centennial sermon in 
1870, which v/as printed by Ferris Bros, at Wilmington. 
Many clergy from Delaware and other dioceses attended 
this anniversary. In addition to the memorial discourse 
by Bishop Lee, sermons were delivered by Rev. W^m. 
A. Newbold, a former assistant minister, and Rev. W. 
H. Gallagher, who was "a. child of St. Andrew's 
Church," and Rev. Dr. Richard Newton, who taught in 
the Sunday-School under Rev. Mr. Coit. 

In his jubilee sermon Bishop Lee stated that it was 
deemed desirable to have a church more convenient to 
many of the inhabitants of Wilmington in location than 
the Old Swedes' Church, 

In A.D., 1828, Rev. J. Rowland Coit became pastor 
of the new parish. A church was erected at the south- 
west corner of Shipley and Kent Streets ; Kent Street 
is now called Eighth Street. The church was conse- 
crated in 1829 by Bishop White. A number of clergy 



7 2 SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 

of Pennsylvania and Delaware assisted in the services. 
Rev, Dr. Bedell read the service, and Rev. Dr. Bull 
preached impressively from I. Kings, 8:27, "But will 
God indeed dwell on the earth ? Behold the heaven and 
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee ; how much less 
this house that I have builded." 

In 1830, on Whit-Sunday, Bishop H. U. Onderdonk 
confirmed a class of fourteen. In 1831 the church was 
first represented in Diocesan Convention. The dele- 
gates were John B. Lewis and James L. Devon. 

Bishop Lee finds no later public service performed 
by Bishop White in Delaware after the consecration of 
St. Andrew's Church. This bishop had "provisional 
charge " of Delaware, in addition to Pennsylvania, and 
the trio of revered names, White, Bull and Bedell, are 
pleasantly noted by Bishop Lee on this occasion. 

In 1832 Rev. Mr. Coit resigned St. Andrew's. He 
was the father of Rev. Dr. Henry A. Coit, and the son 
says of this fervently pious, beloved and useful rector, 
that on October ist, 1866, "he passed peacefully from 
this land of prayer and tears to the land of praise and 
rejoicing." He died on the thirty-seventh anniversary 
of the consecration of St. Andrew's, which was "his 
first church." 

The death of the venerable layman, Dell Noblit in 
1878 at "the patriarchal age of one hundred years," is 
noted by Bishop Lee. 

After Mr. Coit the follovv^ing rectors succeeded : Rev. 
Messrs. J. V. E. Thorn, C. S. Hedges, William C. Rus- 
sell, William James Clark and William H. Trapnell. 
Mr. Russell was v^ery feeble when he was obliged to 
give up his work, and a parishioner of those days has 
described to me the solemnity of the parting words of 
this "man of God" to his conereeation, when he was 



SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 73 

(bliged to address them, sitting, for he Avas unable to 
stand. He died about six months after. Bishop Lee 
names the following assistant ministers who have died : 
The Rev. N. C. Pridham, James Leason Hood, Edward 
Hale, Charles H. Williamson, and Charles E. Mcllvaine, 
the son of Bishop Mcllvaine, and son-in-law of Bishop 
Lee. Rev. Samuel Hazlehurst must be added to the list. 

Bishop Lee says : " The ministry of Rev. Wm. C. Rus- 
sell is worthy of especial mention as attended with holy 
influences and an abundant blessing." We may echo 
these words concerning the bishop himself Any- 
one who saw his earnest manner of instructing his flock 
could well perceive that he was one of the most faith- 
ful rectors in this land. 

St. Andrew's has ever been foremost in mission work, 
and Foreign Missions, and Africa and Mexico liave 
received special care. 

In 1840 the church was burned, but a new one was 
built and consecrated by Bishop H. U. Onderdonk in 
the same year, Bishop Whittingham, of Maryland, 
preaching the sermon. Bishop Whittingham had been 
consecrated four weeks before this event. 

In 1843 Bishop Lee's long rectorate began, and he 
touchingly dwells on its solemn history marked in the 
spiritual life of so many souls. Sixteen clergy entered 
the ministry who had been teachers or scholars in St. 
Andrew's Sunday-school. Some became western mis- 
sionaries. 

The bishop closes thus: ''And although we cannot 
expect to participate here in another Jubilee, we may 
through God's grace share in its joys, as, peradven- 
ture, in ours sainted ones to-day where they see the 
King in His beauty." On April 12th, 1887, Bishop 
Lee's rectorate and Episcopate terminated by his en- 
trance among the sainted company of whom he wrote. 



74 SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IN GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 

Rev. Charles E. Murray, the bishop's assistant minis- 
ter, became rector of the parish, which he now holds. 

For a time he was assisted by the Rev. Francis D. 
Hoskins, formerly Dean of the Faribault Divinity 
School. 

Christ Church, Christiana Hundred, is a little way 
outside of the city at the' powder-works. The rectors 
of Christ Church, Christiana Hundred, Delaware, have 
been Rev. S. C. Brinckle, who began as missionary in 
the Hundred, May, 1848, and was rector-of the parish 
at its formation, May, 1851. He died March 14th, 
1863. Rev. W. A. Newbold was rector from August ist, 
1863, until he resigned October ist, 1869. Rev. I. Newton 
Stanger, the third rector, began his woik March 4th, 1870; 
resigned November 14th, 1873. Rev. D. D. Smith, 
the fourth rector, began duty November 24th, 1873, and is 
still in charge. 

Immanuel Church, Hi^-hlands, thou""h outside of the 
city limit, is in a suburb. It is a Gothic brick building. 
It was a colony of Christ Church, Christiana Hundred, 
and the Brinckle family, children of the late rector of 
that parish, have been largely instrumental in the 
building of the church. Rev. Kensey Johns Hammond 
is the rector ; he accepted the charge June nth, 1888. 

St. Michael's Mission, Wilmington, has an afternoon 
service and a Sunday-school in a room. It is in charge 
of Rev. Alexis I. du P. Coleman, the son of the 
bishop. 

Rectors of Trinity Church, Swedesboro, New 
Jersey. — The succession after Dr. Collin is as follows : 
John Wade from 1788 to 1789 ; John Croes (afterward' 
Bishop of New Jersey) from 1790 to 1801 ; Henry James 
Feltus from 1802 to 1808 ; Simon Wilmer from 1808 to 
1820; J. M. Douglass from 1820 to 1824; Norman 



SUCCESSION OF CLERGY IX GLORIA DEI CHURCH. 75 

Nash from 1829 to 1834; J. Long Woart from 1834 to 
1835 ; John Woart from 1836 to 1840 ; George W. Free- 
man (afterward Bishop of Arkansas) 1841 ; J. W. 
Brown from 1841 to 1843 J ^V. H. Trapnell from 1844 
to 1847 ; E. B. Boggs from 1847 to 1855 ; W. J. Tim- 
mer from 1855 to 1857; Henry TuUidge from 1857 to 
1864; C. W. Duane from 1864 to 1868 ; C. N. Chevrier 
from 1868 to 1872. 

The new church was built under Dr. Collin's rector- 
ship. Mr. Chevrier gave the above list to Dr. Reynolds. 
See "New Sweden," pp. 344-345, note. Mr. Chevrier 

! died in 1872 on the 13th of November. C. W. Duane 
became rector a second time, and remained until Octo- 
ber, 1882. The Rev. F. D. Hoskins, held the rector- 
ship from January, 1883, to December, 1884. Rev. 
George W. Watson, D.D., is the present rector, having 
been in charge since April, 18S5. Mr. Hoskins wrote a 
historical sermon of value which appeared in the 

Ij Swedesboro local newspaper. 



76 HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, \VILMINGTON. 



CHAPTER VII. 

History of Calvary Church, Wilmington. 

f 

IN 1857 a mission was started in a portion of the cityi 
then ill-supplied with religious advantages. Ser- 
vices were opened in a carriage shop at Front and 
Justison Streets, and sustained by the rector, Rt. Rev; 
Alfred Lee, Bishop of the Diocese, and his assistant. 
The attendance increased and a large and flourishing 
Sunday-school was gathered. The fruit of this effort 
was the erection of Calvary Chapel on Washington, 
corner of Third Street, at a cost, with the lot, of over 
35000, opened for divine service October 20th, 1859. 
The growing work there continued to be a part of the 
operations of St. Andrew's Church until April 15th, 
1868, when it was organized as an independent parish 
and was received into union with the Convention of the 
Diocese, June 3d, 1868. 

1866. The Rev. Charles E. Mcllvaine, assistant to the 
Bishop, was in charge. 

1868. The Rev. George A. Latimer was elected rector. 
In October of this year the chancel addition was fin- 
ished and furnished. In 1873 the benches were rem.oved 
from, the basement Sunday-school room, the floor car- 
peted, table desks furnished to the teachers and chairs 
for the scholars. 

March, 1877, the Rev. George A. Latimer resigned, 
and was succeeded by the Rev. B. H. Latrobe in April, 
1877. 



HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, VvILMINGTOX. 77 

September ist, 1878, the Rev. Mr. Latrobe resigned 
and was succeeded by the Rev. William G. Ware. 

In November, 1879, the Rev. William G. W^are re- 
signed, and was succeeded by the Rev. George W. Du- 
Bois, D.D., on December 30th, 1879. In December of 
the same year the Sunday-school room was renovated. 
The next year the church was painted and frescoed. Dr. 
DuBois resigned January ist, 1885. 

May 1st, 1885, the Rev. B. H. Latrobe was elected 
rector of the parish for the second time and accepted 
the election. 

The present rector, the Rev. David Howard, took 
charge on Whit-Sunday, May 29th, 1887. 

Last August the church Avas repaired and beautified 
at an expense of twenty-six hundred dollars, which has 
been entirely paid, leaving no debt whatever on the 
church. The interior has been rearranged, a center 
and two side aisles made, where before there were only 
two, the chancel and nave newly carpeted, the old gas 
fixtures removed and replaced by two handsome 
Coronas, a two-manual pipe organ, with fourteen stops 
and twenty-four notes in pedals, built by John Brown, 
of Wilmington, Delaware, placed on the Gospel side of 
the chancel. The exterior has been greatly improved. 
The walls painted, a belfry twenty feet high erected on 
the church, a portico placed over the front door — all 
of which gives the building a decided churchly appear- 
ance. 

Two years ago there were only fifty-eight (58) com- 
municants. There are at present ninety-four (94). 
The Sunday-school numbers one hundred and ten 
scholars. A Guild, composed of ladies and gentlemen 
of the congregation, was organized last Islovember. 
Its object is to afford its members facilities for social 



■f 

78 HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, WILMINGTON. J 

intercourse and instruction in Church History, also to j 
aid in the temporal and spiritual growth of the parish. 
It meets every Thursday evening. Also a children's 
Guild, which meets every Saturday afternoon in the 
Sunday-school for the purpose of sewing and making 
fancy articles. This little class contributed eighty-five 
dollars toward the repairs of the church. 

Last January the vestry purchased a rectory, No. 505 
West Third Street, for thirty-one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars, having paid twenty-four hundred cash, leav- 
ing a mortgage of seven hundred dollars, which they hope 
with the aid of the Guild and friends, to pay off before 
the next Convention meets, in June, 1890. 

Weekly celebrations of the Holy Communion at 7 
A. M. were introduced last Lent, which are well attend- 
ed. Peace and harmony prevail throughout the parish, 
and there is every indication of life and growth. 

The Church of the Ascension, at Claymont, was 
largely composed of those who had belonged to the 
ancient parish of St. Martin's, at Marcus Hook, Pa. 
A history of the parish is given in Scharf 's History of 
Delaware, Vol. 2, pp. 912-913, which we abridge. In 
1843 Bishop Lee preached in the Naaman's Creek, (now 
Claymont,) school-house. For several years services 
were occasionally held here. The building committee 
for the new church were Thomas Clyde, George Lodge, 
William Gray, George Williamson and William C. 
Lodge. Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely was elected 
rector, and Rev. L. W. P. Balch succeeded him. Rev. 
Dr. John B. Clemson, rector of Marcus Hook, pre- 
sented the lot for the church, (which joined his place), 
and was for many years its rector, succeeding Dr. 
Balch. The church was consecrated by Bishop Lee, 
Sept. 14th, A.D., 1854. Dr. Clemson had a boarding 



HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, WILMINGTON. 79 

school for boys, and in i860 Rev. S. F. Hotchkin be- 
came his assistant minister, in after years suceeeding to 
the rectorship. In 1876 Rev. Mr. Hotchkin was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Charles S. Betticher, who remained 
until 1878, when Rev. R. Heber Murphy followed from 
1879 to 1882 and Rev. P. B. Lightner, from 1882 to 
1886; he was followed by Rev. Edward Owen, and at 
this date (1890) Rev. William H. Moffett is in charge 
of this church and Calvary Church. There is a pleas- 
ant rectory near the bank of the Delaware. Rev. J. 
Sturgis Pearce w^as the head of the boarding school 
after Dr. Clemson. Rev. Dr. Suddards had a summer 
home at Claymont. Rev. Marmaduke Hirst once 
lived on F. O. C. Darley's place, and Rev. Mr. Morris 
on Dr. Suddard's farm. Rev. T. G. Clemson, Rev. 
William Marshall and Rev. Thomas McKee Brown were 
members of this parish before entering the ministry as 
well as Rev. W. H. Graff. 

GRACE CHURCH, BRANDYWINE HUNDRED. 

(Abridged from Scharf's History of Delaware, p. 912.) 

In 1835 a meeting was held in Talley's school house 
to organize this church. Dr. A. Prince was chairman, 
and James A. B. Smith, secretary. In 1836 the school 
house was bought and fitted up as a church, and 
consecrated by Bishop H. U. Onderdonk. Isaac Smith 
and Dr. Abner Prince became wardens. Rev. William 
J. Clark, rector of St. Andrew's, Wilmington, was 
the first rector. Rev. Samuel C. Stratton, Rev. Dr. 
Kensey Johns Stewart, Rev. W. H. Trapnell and Rev. 
ZebadiahH. Mansfield, (who taught a classical school in 
Wilmington) were successive rectors after Mr. Clark. 
In 1 861 Rev. Dr. J. B. Clemson became rector, the 
5 



!l| 



80 HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, WILMINGTON. 

parish being under the care of his assistant minister, 
Rev. S. F. Hotchkin, who was afterwards rector. He 
resigned in A.D., 1875, Rev. C. M. Callaway, Rev. Dr. 
William M. Jefferis, Rev. H. Greenfield Schorr and Rev. 
Robert H. Wright followed, and, in 1886, Rev. L. H. 
Jackson was rector, at this date (1S90) Rev. Jeremiah 
Karcher is rector. Rev. Samuel H. Griffith and Rev. 
Joshua Cowpland also had charge of the parish for a 
time. In 1872, a lot of to acres was bought on the 
Concord pike for a church and cemetery. The corner- 
stone of the new stone church was laid by Bishop Lee, 
October ist, A.D., 1874, and the church was opened 
July 4th, 1875. Henry M. Barlow was the builder. The 
previous Sunday final services were held in the old 
church, a place endeared by sacred associations to many 
souls as ''the gate of heaven." Louis Smith and 
William P. Cresson, were largely instrumental in this 
good work. Miss Mary Jane and Miss Elizabeth For- 
wood have long been faithful Sunday-school teachers. 
Colonel Thomas Robinson and William Smith in early 
days, and Valentine Forwood, and Francis Tempest and 
Hugh Ramsey and John Saville in later times must be 
mentioned as helpful vestrymen. Mrs. W. P. Cresson 
presented a nice rectory and an infant Sunday-school 
room. There is '*a good sexton's house." Mr. F. 
Pearson \vrs a Sunday-school librarian in the old 
church. 

CALVARY CHURCH, BRAXDYWIXE HUXDRED. 

Services were held in Newark Union Meeting House, 
near this church, by Rev. G. W. Ridgely, Rev. Asa S. 
Colton and Rev. Samuel Hazlehurst. The latter clergy- 
man was assistant minister to Bishop Lee in Wil- 
mington, In November, A=D., 1855, this parish was 



HISTORY OF CALVARY CHURCH, WILMINGTON. 8i 

organized with tlie bishop's approval, under Rev. Mr. 
Hazlehurst. See journal of convention, 1856, pp. 23- 
24. 

In i860 Rev. S. F. Hotchkin took up this work under 
the nominal rectorship of Dr. Clemson, but afterwards 
as rector. In 1862, (Sept. 25th,) the corner-stone of the 
new church was laid on land presented by Mrs. Barbara 
Carr, whose farm joined the lot. Bishop Lee conse- 
crated the church, January 29th, 1863, preaching an im- 
pressive sermon. Rev. Dr. Charles Breck, of Trinity 
Church, Wilmington, assisted in the service. A large 
amount of the needed money was raised in small sums. 
Joseph Shipley aided generously. The building is a 
neat one of stone. The parish has been generally 
under the care of the rectors of Claymont, though Rev. 
Dr. William Jefferis, when rector of Grace Church, 
served it faithfully for a time. Under Rev. P. B. Light- 
ner's rectorship, the church building was much im- 
proved in the interior. 



THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Swedish Churches. 

REV. C. M. PERKINS, of Salem, N. J., communi- 
cates the follovv^ing additional information to the 
Swedish sketches : 
" Pennsville is a village located on the western side 
of Penn's Neck township. The village is a little over 
a mile from the old church. The church building is 
located at the junction of what is known as Church 
Landing road and the Pennsylvania road. Church 
Landing is one of the points where the U. S. Govern- 
ment determined the variation of the compasses of 
vessels on the river. In my opinion the Landing took 
its name from the fact that the people used to come in 
boats to church. The property now consists of a 
brick church in good repair, and a rectory opposite. 
The land may contain two acres probably. The larger 
part is the churchyard and has been used as a burying- 
place for many years. The rectory was built within 
the last few years from certain funds that had been in- 
vested for years. St. George's and Trinity, Swedes- 
boro', were once made recipients of land. But St. 
George's did not have so much and it was not so care- 
fully managed ; now it has only the rent of its rectory 
beside what the people pay themselves. For many 
years Rev. J. W. Bradin was missionary. He was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. W. A. Schubert, M.D., now living in 
Washington, D. C. Then G. W. Fisse was in charge. 



THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 8^ 

Rev. W. B. Otis had charge for awhile. Rev. W. A. 
Matthias, now of Philadelphia, was missionary for a 
period. Rev. H. L. Phillips succeeded. The church 
was closed for a time, and I have had charge now for 
near two years." 

Mrs. Edwin L. Lightner adds the following : ''The Rev. 
Edwin L. Lightner was the first rector of Christ Church, 
Upper Merion, holding the position for well nigh 
eleven years ; and all the many years of his ministry 
were passed in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, except the 
last few years of his life in Central Pennsylvania, dying 
in the Parish of Christ Church, Danville, almost fifteen 
years its rector." 



The Rev. E. Leaf, a former rector of St. Gabriel's, 
Morlatton, Central Pennsylvania, having requested me 
to add something about that parish to the Swedish 
articles, I append the following notes from Bishop W. 
Stevens Perry's valuable historical collections of the 
American Colonial Church, Vol. IL, Pennsylvania. 

A petition of William Bird and others in A.D., 1760 
to the Venerable Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts, under the encouragement of Rev. Dr. 
Wm. Smith, who had officiated among the petitioners, 
prays that a missionary be sent over to live in Reading, 
and also officiate **at Molattin, a place fifteen miles 
distant, where a church has for many years been built 
by a society of English and Swedes, who are desirous 
of having a missionary of the Church of England and 
join with us in this application." " Molattin congrega- 
tion " joined the Reading people in a subscription to- 
ward the support of the missionary, pp. 283-289. 

On the 9th of April, 1763, Rev. Alexander Murray, 
the missionary, writes from Reading that in *' INIolatton " 



84 THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 

(the name is variously spelled) there are 39 church fam- 
ilies, making 232 souls, 65 being under 7 years old; 
all were " baptized to a very few, being chiefly of 
Swedish extract. At Molatton there is a ruinous kind 
of church, built of logs or rough timber about thirty 
years ago by the Swedes, and as a great part of the 
congregation there consists of these I have been hitherto 
allowed the use of it, but it roatters very little whether 
I am or not for the future, as it will cost as riiuch to 
repair it as would build a new one of like materials and 
dimensions in a rather more convenient centrical 
place," p. 345. There was then no church in Reading; 
service was held in a dwelling-house where ci\4l courts 
were held. 

On January 25th, 1764, Rev. Mr. Murray reports 
that the Molatton congregation *' has decreased by re- 
movals to 29 families, making in all 185, of which I 
have baptized 2 adults and 12 infants. I can no mere 
prevail on that people than those here in town (Read- 
ing) to engage heartily in any scheme for building a 
church," p. 357. 

On June 25th, 1765, the same missionary reports that 
Molatton congregation '' has neither diminished nor in- 
creased much since the commencement of the mission, 
and consists presently of 30 families, and in both 
places, including the single persons residing in other 
families, amount to the number of 331, young and old," 

P- 383. ' 

On June 17th, 1765, "the church wardens and vestry 
of the Episcopal congregation at Molatton, in the county 
of Berks," petition the Society, saying, ''they have en- 
gaged to raise i^ioo" toward repairing their church. 
They hope this will ''encourage others to unite with 
them," and "it will accommodate themselves." They, 



4 



THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 85 

with Reading, ask for an increase of their missionary's 
stipend. 

They hope " to provide a glebe and parsonage and a 
better maintenance for their worthy missionary, which, 
they are convinced, is too scanty at present." 

Signed by John KinHn and John Warren, church war- 
dens, and John Godfrey, George Douglass, Mounce 
Johes, Peter Jones and John Old, vestrymen, pp. 3^8, 
389. Four Johns and one Peter among seven names 
shows a worthy honor of the Apostles. 

Rev. George Ross writes that St. Paul's Church, 
Chester, was built at a Swedish burying-place, and that 
the Swedes had originally "a church, endowed with 
a valuable glebe, not far from this place of burial, w^iich 
in 1714 disappeared," pp. 78-79. 



Rev. J. L. Heysinger writes the following letter to 
the Standard of the Cross: "As Church antiquarian 
you are fairly entitled to much credit for your indefa- 
tigable industry in exhuming the records of the past in 
regard to the old Swedish churches. No doubt these re- 
cords are often obscure and sometimes incorrect. Allow 
me to call your attention to a mistake or two. You men- 
tion that ' Rev. Slator Clay was assistant in 1792 ; offici- 
ating monthly at Upper Merion (Bridgeport), and on 
fifth Sundays in the month at Kingsessing. He gave a 
part of his time to the Swedes, but served them until he 
died in 182 1.' Rev. Slator Clay was ordained to the 
diaconate in 1786 by Bishop White, and the following 
year to the priesthood. This w^as done at the request 
of St. James's, Perkiomen, where he resided, and St. Pe- 
ter's in the Valley, St. David's, Radnor. He remained 
at St, James's, Perkiomen, all his life, .living and dying 



86 THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 

in the glebe house there. You also state that Dr. Clay 
(Jehu Curtis Clay) was born in Upper Providence. He 
was born in the glebe house of St. James's, Lower Provi- 
dence." 

The author's statement about Rev. Slator Clay 
was taken from the Appendix of Rev. Dr. Jehu C. 
Clay's Annals of the Swedes, p. 177, and Acrelius's New 
Sweden, p. 262, note. As Rev. Mr. Heysinger has been 
rector of St. James's Church, Perkiomen, he has had ac- 
cess to records there which may show an error. It is 
interesting to note that one who was baptized by Slator 
Clay, but who was not old enough to remember him, 
revering his memory, has had his tombstone at St. 
James's, Perkiomen, cleaned and put in order. 



The author of this work prepared the following sketch 
of St. Luke's Church for the Gerrnantown Telegraph. 
As this church was served in its early work occasionally 
by clergy of All Saints', Torresdale (Lower Dublin), 
and Emanuel Church, Holmesburg, which maybe called 
children of Trinity Church, Oxford ; St. Luke's may be 
called a grandchild of that venerable parish. 

It is a pleasure to state that Dr. Charles R. King, the 
Accounting Warden of All Saints' expects to issue a 
history of that parish, and his long connection with it 
well fits him for the work, while his interest in antiquity 
will give zest to the laborious undertaking. Would that 
every parish had such a historiographer. Rev. Dr. Beas- 
ley held this parish over forty years. It is now in charge 
of Rush S. Eastman. Rev. John T. Magrath and Rev. 
Frederick J. Bassett succeeded Dr. Beasley. 

In the Frankford Gazette, of May 27th, 1887, is an ex- 
tended sketch of the history of Emanuel Church, 



THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 57 

Holmcsburg, by the rector, Rev. Dr. D. Caldwell Millett, 
who assumed the rectorship in 1863. Rev. W. H. Bo- 
wens was the first rector in 1844; in 1848 Rev. George 
G. Field became the second rector. In 1857 the parish 
school began, the Misses Lardner and Mrs. Ann W. 
Glenn and Mrs. Elizabeth D. Fisher, her sister, kindly 
teaching it, with the assistance of others. It is now 
under the faithful care of Miss Bolton. 

In 1857 Rev. John P. Lundy, D.D., became rector. 
In 1858 the beautiful new brownstone church wa's first 
used for service. In 1858 it was consecrated by Bishop 
Bowman. In 1863 Dr. Lundy resigned the rectorship. 

In 1879 the beautiful stone parish building, in memory 
of Mary D. Brown, was opened. It contains a tablet in 
memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Darch Fisher, who died in 
1876, erected by the Parish School. 

Miss Catherine Moore was a munificent donor to this 
parish. 

Holy Innocents Church, Tacony, was started by the 
efforts of Dr. Millett, who held services in that place in 
1868. 

In 1869 the first service was held in the new church, 
which was consecrated in 1872. Rev. William Augus- 
tus White is the present rector. Rev. Mr. Avery (now 
of Atlantic City), and Rev. Messrs. Post (now of Ore- 
gon), and Rev. Dr. Osborne have held the rectorship 
of this parish. 



ST. LUKE S CHURCH, BUSTLETON. 

Bishop Leighton Coleman, of Delaware, was the first 
rector of the Memorial Church of St. Luke, the Beloved 
Physician. He outlined its history in a sermon in A.D., 
i86r. Rev. George Sheets, who was the faithful rector 



S8 THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 

of Oxford, used to hold a service in the Old Academy 
when he lived in Bustleton. Years after the beloved 
Dr. Beasley, rector of Torresdale (AH Saints), main- 
tained services, assisted by neighboring clergy. Drs. 
Buchanan, Millett, Lundy and the late Samuel E. 
Smith assisted in this good work. Dr. Beasley used 
also the former Sons of Temperance Hall for services 
by the good will of Joseph Wagner, the owner. Who did 
much to advance the }'oung parish, with the aid of his 
devoted wife. Services were also held in priv^ate 
houses and in Union Hall, where Bishop Coleman first 
officiated. The church lot was bought of Rev. Theo- 
philus G. Crouch, in July, A.D., i860. The corner- 
stone was laid on Thursda}-, September 20th, A.D., 
i860, in the afternoon. Bishop Alonzo Potter was 
present. Rev. Dr. Buchanan and Rev. Dr. Wilmer (after- 
ward Bishop of Louisiana), made addresses, and Rev. 
Dr. Stevens (afterward Bishop of Pennsylvania), con- 
cluded the services. Upjohn & Son, of New York, 
were the architects. The church is built of blue stone, 
and brown stone and brick are used in trimming the 
building, while the roof is of slate. It is one of the 
prettiest churches in the country, and is surrounded by 
a large and beautiful churchyard. The chancel is apsidal, 
and a bell gable holds the bell. It is surmounted by a 
gilded cross, which proclaims our faith in the Crucified 
One. 

On August 29th, A.D , 1861, the church was conse- 
crated by Bishop Alonzo Potter, assisted by Bishop 
Odenheimer, of New Jersey, and thirty surpliced clergy 
from various Dioceses. Dr. Wilmer Avas the preacher, 
but being ill Dr. Ducachet read a part of his sermon 
and the bishops made addresses. The church was 
filled so that many could not enter. Many friends of 



THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 89 

Dr. and Mrs. Henry were present and many who had 

associations with the neighborhood. Mrs. PauHne E. 

Henry built the church in memory of her husband, 

Barnard Henry, M.D., who died April 15th, i860. 

Mrs. Henry had some associations with the neighbor- 

!' hood. She continues her interest in the parish. A 

i| memorial church is a blessed monument, as it aids the 

j Hving. It it much to be desired that many such 

j churches may arise. The first vestry were Morton P. 

( Henry, Esq. (Dr. Henry's brother), secretary; Amos A. 

'I Gregg, Esq., Robert J. Henderson, Esq., Charles Till- 

yer, Newberry A. Smith and John Trump. 

On the loth of June, A.D., 1861, the vestry elected 
the Rev. Mr. Coleman, a deacon in the General Theo- 
I logical Seminary, New York City, the first rector. On 
June 19th, A.D., i86t, he accepted the call and entered 
on duty on the ist of July following. On May 30th, 
1 86 1, the parish was admitted to the Convention of the 
Diocese. On May 15th, 1862, the rector was ordained 
priest; that saintly man, Professor Johnson, of the Gen- 
eral Seminary, preaching the sermon. 

Dr. Coleman resigned November 26th, 1863 (Thanks- 
giving day). In November, 1861, Mrs. Henry gave 
the rectory to the parish. The pretty stone chapel and 
Sunday-school room was first used in January, 1870, 
and the foundress of the church gave the larger part of 
its cost. She has also enriched the chancel windows 
by inserting some beautiful designs of ancient stained 
glass from Europe. The beautiful west window is in 
memory of Dr. Plenry, and the brass lectern commem- 
orates her daughter, Miss Connor, and the brass altar- 
cross, her father, Mr. Van der Kemp. 

The rectors after the first have been, Rev. Pxlmund 
Roberts, Rev. James H. Barnard, Rev. Henry A. Par- 
ker, Rev. Lucius N. Voigt and Rev. S. F. Ilotchkin, 



90 THE SWEDISH CHURCHES. 

now in charge. The present vestry are : Edward Evans, 
accounting warden ; Charles H. Strout, rector's warden ; 
Amos A. Browne, William S. Robinson, Eugene Beck 
and General Pennock Huey. The late Mr. John B. Wil- 
lian was long a faithful vestryman, a volunteer organist 
and Sunday-school teacher. His work was well done. 
The workers die, but new ones arise and the work ad- 
vances, and the abundant labors of the toilers in the 
service of the Blessed Master will not be "in vain in 
the Lord." The rectory has been enlarged. The St. 
Luke's School boys and the voluntary choir in their ab- 
sence do good and acceptable musical service in the 
Lord's house. Harry Ashton, William Maguire and 
Edward Rylott have been the sextons during the present 
rectorship. 



^E\\ SLATOR CLAY. 



CHAPTER IX. 
Rev. Slator Clay. 



I 



WOULD add to the notes already given that Rev. 
Dr. Sprague's Annals of the American Episcopal 
Pulpit (pp. 355-357) contain a most interesting ac- 
count of Rev. Slator Clay (A.D., 1787 to A.D., i82i),by 
jhis son, Rev. Jehu C. Clay, D.D. 

I He was the son of Slator and Ann Clay, having been 
born in Newcastle, Del., October ist, 1754. His mother 
was the daughter of Jehu Curtis, Speaker of the Dela- 
ware Assembly, Judge of the Supreme Court and Treas- 
urer of the Loan Office. The Judge is buried in the 



Newcastle churchyard. Benjamin Franklin wrote his 
epitaph. 

Slator Clay studied law and was admitted to the bar. 

In 1779 or 1780 he went to the West Indies with a 

friend who was a sea captain. This was during the 

Revolutionary war, and a British privateer captured the 

vessel and Mr. Clay was put on shore on the Island of 

I Antigua with only one piece of money in his possession. 

However, he took passage for New York, then held by 

1 the British. A sailor proposed mutiny, and Mr. Clay 

I informed the captain and the ringleader and per- 

' haps others were confined. The vessel was seized by 

an American privateer. Mr. Clay afterward gained the 

Ij! confidence of the mutineer. The vessel was endangered 

l|i by the sea off Hatteras and wrecked on Bermuda rocks. 

At Bermuda the young lawyer taught school for six 



92 REV. SLATOR CLAY. 

years. His dangerous voyage turned his thoughts to 
religion. A Presbyterian clergyman, Dr. ]\Iuir, of 
Alexandria, to whom he confided his views, led him on 
in his new life. He determined to enter the ministry. 
His warm friends in Bermuda desired him to be ordained 
by the Bishop of London and serve "as their pastor." 
This was being arranged when Mr. Clay heard of the 
proposed consecration of Bishop White, and wishing 
to return to the land of his nativity, though he loved 
his island friends, sailed for Philadelphia, arriving there 
in 1786. That year Rev. Dr. Collin married him to 
Mrs. Hannah Hughes, a widow lady. They had ''four 
children — a daughter and three sons." On December 
23d, A.D., 1787, Bishop White ordained Slator Clay a 
deacon in Christ Church, Philadelphia. This was the 
year of the Bishop's consecration. On the 17th of the 
next February he was ordained priest in St. Peter's 
Church. He became rector of St. James's^ Perkiomen, 
in Upper Merion. The church had been built in 1721. 
He was also rector of St. Peter's, Great Valley, Chester 
County, and St. David's, Radnor, which had been built 
in 1 7 13. Mr. Clay was furthermore assistant minister 
of the Swedish parish of Christ Church, Upper Merion 
(Bridgeport), under Dr. Collin's rectorship. Episcopal 
clergy were scarce and their fields W'ide. In 1790 Mr. 
Clay moved from Upper Merion to Perkiomen, where 
a parsonage had been erected for him, and there was 
" a glebe of some thirty acres." He gave a part of his 
time to St. Thomas's, Whitemarsh, in addition to his 
work at the other churches named, though he went to 
Radnor more seldom, as it was so distant from his new 
home. He was called to Alexandria, Virginia, but pre- 
ferred to remain in his quiet country home. Where he 
began his ministerial work he ended it, dying September 



REV. SLATOR CLAY. 93 

25th, 182 T. Like Goldsmith's parson, he changed not 
his place. He was highly honored for his sincere 
piety which shone in his life. In favorable weather his 
churches ''were always crowded." The hearers felt 
that the preacher exemplified his doctrine. '* Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified," was his great theme. He 
thought little of human merit, but much of Christ's suf- 
ficiency for man's salvation. He was a natural and earn- 
est preacher, and his voice was agreeable. He died at 
sixty-seven, closing ''a life of faith on earth in a sure 
hope of entering on a life of glory in eternity." 

Mr. Clay was about five feet and eight inches high, 
and his body was slender and delicate, his eyes were of 
a hazel color, and his countenance was '* benign and 
interesting." He was affable to friends. His Chris- 
tian character made him humble, gentle and child- 
like. 

Slator Clay's elder brother, Robert, was a church 
clergyman. His birth occurred on October i8th, 1749. 
He was in a mercantile establishment in Philadelphia in 
youth. Bishop White ordained him about 1787. He 'Svas 
for thirty-six years rector of the church at Newcastle, 
and died December, 1831. He was a fine reader of the 
Church Service and sustained an unblemished reputa- 
tion. He was never married." 



94 BISHOPS. 



CHAPTER X. 

Rt. Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk. 

[The following sketches are abridged from Rev. Dr. Batteron's 
Sketch Book of the American Episcopate. Bishop White is 
noticed in the histories of the parishes he served.] 

BISHOP Onderdonk was born in the city of New 
York in A.D., 1789. He was a graduate of 
Columbia College in that city, and became a 
physician, but in 181 5 was ordained deacon by Bishop] 
Hobart. He was rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn,* 
when elected Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania. He] 
was consecrated in Christ Church, Philadelphia, in 
1827, by Bishops White, Hobart, Kemp, Croes andj 
Bowen. When Bishop White died in 1836, "he be-j 
came Bishop of Pennsylvania." He died in 1858, an< 
was buried at the churchyard of St. James the Less. 

He wrote ** Episcopacy Tested by Scripture," and! 
other works as well as various hymns and three Psalms] 
in the Old Prayer-book Collection." 

The Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., LL.D. 

Bishop Potter was born in the State of New York,] 
A.D., 1800. He was a graduate of Union College, 
where he became a professor. In 1822 Bishop Hobi 
ordained him to the Diaconate, and in 1824 Bishops 
Brownell ordained him a priest ; *' acting for the Bishop 
of New York. In 1826 he became rector of St. Paul's 
Church, Boston." In 1831 he was again a professor in 



1 



1 




BISHOP STEVENS. 



I BISHOPS. 95 

Union College, and from this post he entered the Episco- 
pate. He was consecrated in Christ Church, Philadel- 
phia, in 1845, by Bishops Philander, Chase, Hopkins, 
G. W. Doane, Whittingham, and Alfred Lee. He died 
on board ship in San Francisco Harbor, July 4th, A.D., 
1865. Pie is buried at Laurel Hill. He wrote various 
works, and edited ''The Memorial Papers." 

The Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens, D.D., LL.D. 

Bath, in Maine, was the birthplace of this worthy bishop. 
Pie studied in Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., trav- 
eled abroad, and became a physician in Savannah, Geor- 
gia, and was the historian for that State, writing its his- 
tory. In 1843 Bishop Elliot ordained him a deacon, and 
the next year a priest. He became rector of Emanuel 
Church, Athens, Georgia, and a professor in the Univer- 
sity of Georgia. In 1847 the diocese sent him as a deputy 
to the General Convention. In 1848 he became rector of 
St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia, and in 1862 Assist- 
ant Bishop of Pennsylvania, being consecrated in St. 
Andrew's Church on the 2d of January by Bishops 
Hopkins, A. Potter, H. Potter, A. Lee, Clark, H. W. 
Lee, and Odenhelmer. When Bishop Potter died in 1865, 
'*he became Bishop of Pennsylvania." In 1865 the Dio- 
cese of Pittsburgh was taken from the Diocese of Penn- 
sylvania, and in 1875 Central Pennsylvania was erected 
into a diocese. From 1868 Bishop Stevens had " charge 
of the American Episcopal Churches in Europe" for 
six years. 

He wrote many things which appeared in print, 
among them a work on the Parables and on Consola- 
tion, and on the Lord's Day, and on the History of St. 
Andrew's Church. He preached the Consecration 
6 



96 BISHOPS. 

Sermons of Bishops B. H. Paddock and S. F. J. Sclier- 
eschewsky, Missionary Bishop to China. At the Church 
of the-Holy Trinity, in Nice, France, he preached "in 
behalf of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts, and the Church Missionary Society," 
in 1866, and in 1878 the closing sermon in the Cathedral 
of St. Paul, in London, at the Pan-Anglican Council, 
was delivered by him. 

The Rt. Rev. Ozi Whitaker, D.D. 

The State of Massachusetts and the town of New 
Salem, in 1830, are noted as the place and date of the 
birth of this bishop. He is a graduate of Middlebury 
College, Vermont, and of the General Theological 
Seminary. In 1863 Bishop Eastburn ordained him a 
deacon, and he received priest's orders from him also. 
He became rector of St. John's Church, Gold Hill, 
Nevada, but in 1865 took the rectorship of St. Paul's 
Church, at Englewood, N.J. In 1867 he was rector of 
St. Paul's Church, Virginia City, Nevada, and in 1868 
was elected Missionary Bishop of Nevada, by the 
General Convention which met in St. John's Church, 
New York. 

Kenyon College gave him the Doctorate in Divinity 
in 1869. 

In 1869 he was consecrated in St. George's Church, 
New York, by Bishops Mcllvaine, H. Potter, Eastburn, 
Odenheimer, and J. C. Talbot. 



f 






* 




CHRIST CHURCH. 97 



CHAPTER XL 

Christ Church. 

"And the priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant of the 
Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan.'*— Jo s/in a, 

AS Christ's people ''pass the waves of this trouble- 
some world," the priests of God stand firmly 
to encourage them, as they did at the crossing 
of the Jordan. For long centuries the noble Church of 
England has had a host of such witnesses for the truth 
at home and in foreign lands. It is near two hundred 
years since the first building for the use of Christ 
Church arose; and what was a provincial village is a 
might)^ city, but the same words of prayer and praise in 
the dear old Liturgy resound within these walls as 
echoed in English cathedrals in early days. As Bishop 
Coxe poetically expresses it : 

" O where are kings and empires now, 
Of old, that went and came ? 
But, Lord, Thy Church is praying yet, 
A thousand years the same." 

The first edifice used by Christ Church was erected in 
A.D., 1695, and by following the brief sketches in Dr. 
Dorr's excellent '* History of Christ Church," issued 
nearly fifty years ago, and Bishop Perry's invaluable 
collection of the Propagation Society records, with their 
extensive and careful references to other works, we ma}^ 
gain some idea of those who ministered at this altar in 
the earliest days of the parish history. 



98 CHRIST CHURCH. 

The first missionary here was Rev. Thomas Clayton, 
who was sent by Bishop Compton, of London, by the 
influence of Rev. Dr. Bray, the faithful Commissary in 
Maryland. The congregation did not exceed fifty, but 
in two years it numbered seven hundred, and a "hand- 
some church " had been built. This useful clergyman 
died after about two years' faithful service, of a contagi- 
ous disease, which he had caught while visiting the 
sick, and so passed through his dangerous duty to his 
glorious reward. His zeal and success in his short min- 
istry are worthy of note. He is mentioned in Watson's 
Annals, and Sprague's Annals of The Episcopal Clergy, 
and in Anderson's History of the Colonial Church, and 
Hawkins's Missions of the Church of England in the 
Colonies. There is a reference to his death in the 9th 
volume of the Memoirs of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania, in a letter from Isaac Norris to Jonathan 
Dickinson, in Jamaica. 

Iji the journal of the Rev. George Keith, given in the 
" Collections of the Protestant P^piscopal Church," it is 
stated that Rev. ]\Ir. " Claiton " had baptized, before Mr. 
Evans's time, *'of men, women and children in Pennsyl- 
vania and West Jersey, of P^nglish and Welsh, about 
five hundred ; many or most of them having been Quak- 
ers and the children of Quakers, and Quakerly affected; 
and besides these, many who had left Quakerism and 
had joined to the church had been baptized in infancy, 
not having been born of Quaker parents." Thomas Mar- 
tin, in behalf of the Friends' Meeting, sends a letter re- 
sponding to one that Mr. Clayton had sent to the Yearly 
Meeting. Mr. Martin declares that the Friends are not 
the enemies of the Church of England, but that they 
"pray to God for the prosperity and peace of all that 
fear God in all Societies of Christians, more especially 



CHRIST CHURCH. 99 

in her, by whose clemency (under God), we enjoy our 
present peace and liberty, both in things spiritual and 
temporal." Mr. Clayton writes to the clergy of a con- 
siderable party of Friends and Anabaptists wishing unity 
with tlie Church of England, and writes to the Gover- 
nor that the Keithians (Quakers) are strongly inclining 
to the Church. He worked to draw in those that were 
without. Mr. Martin's letter reminds one of the kindly 
words penned by the Puritans on the Mayflower ; and 
these things show a common interest in the Christian 
life. 

Mr. Robert Suder wrote to the Governor, saying of 
Mr. Clayton, *' We have had that blessing of so good a 
divine as the worthy Mr. Clayton." A historical sketch 
of the Church in Burlington, N. J., by Jeremiah Bass, 
Esq., her Majesty's .Secretary to the Province of New 
Jersey, speaks of Mr. Clayton's work in that province. 

In Watson's Annals is a statement from Rev. Morgan 
Edwards's book ''Materials for a History of the Bap- 
tists," recording that Mr. Clayton invited the Baptists 
to a conference to further church unity, but the invitation 
was ineffectual. 

Mr. Clayton died in Sassafras, INlaryland, in 1699. 
Hawkins's History says of Mr. Clayton and Mr. Mar- 
shall, of Charlestown, '' as pious and happy in their con- 
duct as could have been found." 

The Rev. Dr. Evan Evans was the second missionary 
in charge of Christ Church. The Rev. Dr. Ethan Allen, 
and Humphrey's History of the Propagation Society, 
are authorities given in Sprague concerning him. He is 
supposed to have been born in Wales, and was sent to 
Philadelphia by Bishop Compton, of London, A.D., 
1700. Before two years had passed 500 new members 
were added to the church. They asked King William 



lOO CHRIST CHURCH. 

III. for a stipend for the missionary, and he gave them 
50 pounds, and the people added their contributions. 
Mr. Evans was zealous in his work, and affected the 
country people by his preaching, and they formed par- 
ishes at Marcus Hook and Chester (then called Uplands), 
and at Radnor and Oxford. He was active and ener- 
getic, and visited these places. While Mr. Thomas was 
his assistant he used to preach monthly to a society of 
young men, who met on the Lord's Day, after evening 
prayer, to read Scripture and sing Psalms, when the 
rector read Collects. The young Quakers would stand 
under the windows of the church at night when the 
young men had removed thither from their place of 
meeting, and many were said to have been drawn into 
the membership of the church. Mr. Evans notes the 
baptism of several Quakers. 

After this devoted missionary had served four years, 
an assistant was given him. In asking the Society for 
an assistant, he styles Philadelphia, " That remote part 
of the world." In 1707 he went to England, and the 
Swedish pastor, Rev. Andreas Rudman, took his place, 
but died before his return. The Church Review, of April, 
1852, describes the connection of Dr. Evans with the 
Swedish Mission. 

While in England Mr. Evans memorialized the ven- 
erable Propagation Society for a Bishop for America. 
He thought that a college would follow the establishing 
of the Episcopate. Colonel Heathcote desired a com- 
missary, if a Bishop could not be had, and names Mr. 
Evans as suitable for that office, as he had " given such 
large proofs of his great temper and extraordinary ser- 
vices to the church." 

In 1709 Mr. Evans returned from England, probably 
bringing from Queen Anne the silver Communion 



CHRIST CHURCH. 101 

Service still owned by the church. In 171 1 the church 
was enlarged.- 

In 1716 Mr. Evans resigned the position as missionary 
at Christ Church and revisited England. He was a grad- 
uate of Brazen-Nose College, Oxford, and received his 
degree of Doctor of Divinity from an English university. 
When Dr. Evans first came to this country he wrote 
back that he had reached New York, by God's assist- 
ance, after a '' dangerous and tedious passage " of eleven 
weeks. 

In 1707 Dr. Evans gave the Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, an encouraging ac- 
count of the '' Open Door " (Rev. 3: 8), which God had 
set before His church in Philadelphia. The weak infant 
had grown, and numbers had been added, and the Light 
of the Gospel had spread to neighboring provinces, and 
the church was becoming truly the Catholic church of 
the region. The Philadelphia congregation was mostly 
from the Quakers and others who had dissented from 
the Church of England. Dr. Evans went to various 
points to serve parishes in Pennsylvania, and to Evesham, 
West Jersey, undergoing fatigue in his earnest labors for 
Christ. At Montgomery and Radnor he preached in 
Welsh once a fortnight for four years. 

This earnest missionary appears to have held Oxford 
and Radnor in connection with Christ Church, accord- 
ing to Dr. Dorr. In 1 718 he removed to Maryland, 
and took charge of St. George's and St. John's parishes, 
in Baltimore county, now Harford county. St. George's 
Church was called Spesutiae, or the hope of Utie, as the 
Latin words signify. Colonel Utie was a pioneer, and 
the settlement was so called, but the family have now no 
representatives in the region. The church had been 
erected probably before 1683, for the use of the settlers 



102 CHRIST CHURCH. 

on the shores of the Chesapeake and the surrounding 
country. A new church was built on a beautiful spot. 
The inhabitants were all of the Church of England, 
which was then the established church there. There was 
the blessed spectacle so often longed and prayed for, of 
one spiritual speech among the people of God. On al- 
ternate Sundays Dr. Evans officiated at St. John's, twenty 
miles distant, through an almost unbroken forest. We 
can imagine the good man riding among the trees of 
''the Lord," and preparing himself to lead his rustic 
flock rightly in their devotions when he should reach his 
journey's end. 

Dr. Evans died in 1729, after a laborious life of use- 
fulness in Christ's Church, His will commended his soul 
to Almighty God, hoping for forgiveness of sins through 
Christ's merits. He wished his body to be interred at 
the north end of the ''altar table" in St. George's 
Church, and desired that Rev. George Ross, of New 
Castle, should preach his funeral sermon. It is thought 
probable that his widow, who was named Alice, went to 
live with their only child, who had married Rev, Mr. 
Lloyd, of England. ' There were grandchildren. The 
inventor, Oliver Evans, whose life has been pleasantly 
related to Rev. George A, Latimer, in a pamphlet, is 
said to have been a descendant of Dr. Evans. 

Dr. George W. Archer, a local historian of Maryland, 
in a recent article, describes the site of the ancient 
"Gravelly Church," which Dr, Evans found as the par- 
ish church at St. George's. It takes its name from the 
surrounding gravel. The place is overgrown with trees. 
It was called "Old Spesutiae " to distinguish it from 
" New Spesutiae " Church. The new church dates from 
T 718 when Dr, Evans began his ministrations. The Rev. 
J. Harry Chesley, the present rector, has kindly aided 




CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 



m 



CHRIST CHURCH. 103 

my investigations. He suggests that the furthering of the 
new church enterprise may have been the result of the 
zeal of Dr. Evans. James Phillips gave the site of the 
old church. One of his descendants is now a warden. 
Colonel Thomas White, the father of the Bishop, is 
buried in Spesutiae churchyard. The old church site 
was some distance from the spot where the successive 
newer churches have arisen. The present modern 
church is beautifully situated on a headland^ which over- 
looks a winding creek, forming a part of the headwaters 
of Bush River. The creek has born the name of Church 
Creek from ancient days, and it is pleasant to give re- 
ligious associations to natural objects, and glorify God 
in his works. I have a relic from an old mulberry post 
lately unearthed at the site of " Gravelly Church." The 
post formed a part of the fence enclosing the ancient 
building. 

The Rev. S. W. Crampton, a former rector, has writ- 
ten a history of St. George's parish. 

Dr. Evans was visiting Philadelphia in 1721, and on 
the 8th of October, being Sunday, he preached in the 
morning in Christ Church, and was performing service 
in the afternoon, when he was seized with a fit of apo- 
plexy and carried from the church, and died on the fol- 
lowing Wednesday. It is thought that an obliterated 
epitaph may mark the place of his grave in this church, 
where he was buried and where he had taught so many 
concerning Christian life and doctrine before he was so 
suddenly caught heavenward. The servant of God was 
ready to hear the divine summons. He was much be- 
loved for his piety and peaceful disposition and he was 
deeply lamented. He was faithful in admonishing his 
flock to prepare for their heavenly home, and esteemed 
sudden death a great favor. The seventy -fourth chapter 



104 CHRIST CHURCH. 

of Thompson Westcott's History of Philadelphia, gives 
an extract from the Pennsylvania Mercnry as to his death 
and burial, which has guided these notes. He left the 
precious testimony of a faithful missionary, and was, as 
was quaintly said, *'a great instrument towards settling 
religion and the Church of England in those wild coun- 
tries." His able paper, prepared for the Society, show- 
ing the needs of the Colonial Church, was a courageous 
and hopeful exhortation. The Society sent Welsh books 
of Divine Service to those settlements served by Dr. 
Evans, which needed them. 

Wm. Penn said of Dr. Evans, he "appears a man 
sober and of a mild disposition." Colonel Gookin com- 
mends him as diligent " in all parts of his function." 
Colonel John Evans says that the town of Philadelphia 
is ''of the greatest consequence." In A.D., 1709, only 
one minister served the Church of England there, and 
if they should be unhappily deprived of him, the Colo- 
nel writes the Secretary of the Society that "all man- 
kind would agree that an immediate supply would be 
necessary." How many clergy now serve Philadelphia? 
Let us thank God for the improvement. 

The Rev. George Keith speaks of Dr. Evans in his 
journal. Rev. George Ross, of New Castle, commends 
heartily his fidelity and character. Dr. Hawks's manu- 
scripts refer often to him, as do the early annals of the 
American Church in general. Rev. Henry Nichols, of 
Chester, Pennsylvania, describes him as "a credit both to 
his church and country." Dr. Evans used to interpret 
the Rev. George Keith's preaching into Welsh for the 
Welsh hearers. He signed a letter to Lord Baltimore, 
with other clergy of the western, shore of Maryland, 
expressing acknowledgments for his regard to the clergy 
and the Church of Eno-land, 



CHRIST CHURCH. 105 

He also signs a similar letter to President Brooke. 
The Rev. John Thomas was assistant to Dr. Evans. 
! The doctor used to go from forty to sixty miles from 
! Philadelphia to hold services, chiefly for Welsh emi- 
grants, and he needed assistance. In 1703 Rev. George 
Keith wrote the Bishop of London, commending Mr. 
Thomas. He also acted as schoolmaster, being diligent 
J in teaching, and in preaching in country places. Lord 
,i Cornbury also commends Mr. Thomas, and calls Mr. 
ij Evans "a very sober, pious man." Mr. Thomas v/as 
j! now going to England to receive Priest's Orders, com- 
,1 mended by the rector and vestry. He had worked in 
.' Trinity Church, Oxford. 

, When Dr. Evans went to Maryland, Rev. Thomas 
' Hughes filled the vacancy for a year, and he is the first 
I classed among the assistant ministers by Dr. Dorr. He 
,j was from Virginia. The Rev. Messrs. John Talbot, 
,, Humphrey, Ross and Sandel also performed occasional 
' duty. 

Rev. John Vicary was commissioned by the Bishop 

of London to take charge of Christ Church in 1719. 

His health failed at the end of 1721. He returned to 

j England, and it is thought probable that he died in the 

early part of the year 1723. In Mr. Vicary 's illness the 

J vestry asked '* William Assheton to read prayers and 

I sermons on Sundays," while Rev. Robert Weyman was 

to be waited on with a request to supply the church and 

administer the Holy Communion. The blessing of the 

church service was appreciated. Mr. Vicary died in 

i England and his family afterward returned to thatcoun- 

I try. 

Governor Keith styles Mr. Vicary " a very ingenius 
ji preacher," and adds that he " gave a general satisfaction 
''\ to the people in the exercise of every part of his sacred 



I06 CHRIST CHURCH. 

office." The duty, however, was too great for him, 
" being very weak and consumptive." Keith declares 
that Philadelphians paid " honor and respect " to their 
clergy. In this case the work in this vineyard was soon 
over, and the laborer went to his heavenly reward. 

After Mr. Vicary's death, and during his illness, Rev. 
John Urmston " officiated about a year." 

In 1724 the Rev. Dr. Richard Welton, a Non-juring 
bishop, that is one of that class who were originally so 
named because they would not take the oath of allegi- 
ance to William and Mary, came as a stranger to Phila- 
delphia, when Christ Church had no clergyman, and its 
doors were shut. Several of the vestry were assured of 
the doctor's orthodoxy, and some English newspapers 
said that he had taken the oath, and conformed to the 
Government, though he had been deprived of his Eng- 
lish living. The doctor was asked to officiate at Christ 
Church until a missionary came. His preaching at- 
tracted the congregation. There is much of romance in 
the history of the Non-jurors, and Rev. John Talbot, of 
Burlington, New Jerse}^ and Ralph Taylor were also 
bishops of this class, who were in this country. Dr. 
Welton had been consecrated by Taylor in England. 
While he greatly pleased the congregation, in 1726 the 
English Government recalled him, apparently on account 
of the complications of this Episcopate. In April, 1726, 
Sir William Keith, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, wrote to the Bishop of London that Dr. Welton 
had been served w^ith his IMajesty's order to return to 
Great Britain, and departed by way of Lisbon. Rev. 
William Becket, of Lewes, Delaware and the Fulham 
MSS. name Dr. Welton. An article by Rev. Dr. Ben- 
jamin Franklin, Secretary of the Historical Society of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, on the ''Non-juring 



CHRIST CHURCH. 1 07 

Episcopate in the United States," gives a letter from 
ReliquicB Her7iia?tce, from the Reading Post (England), 
under date of Lisbon, August 31, 1726, N. S., which says 
that Dr. Wclton died there of dropsy -in 1726. An 
Episcopal seal was found among his effects, which it is 
said that he had used in Pennsylvania, privily. He was 
ordered home, but went to Portugal. Hearne adds : 
" This is the famous Dr. Welton, minister at White- 
chappel, who suffered much for his honesty (Jacobin- 
ism), and was, it seems, a bishop, and is now removed 
from the malice of all his enemies." So closed this 
•'brief, but very acceptable " ministry, (as it is styled 
in Sprague) at Christ Church. Rev. Jacob Henderson, 
Commissary in Maryland, wrote the Bishop of London 
that the people were fond of Dr. Welton. The conse- 
cration of Dr. Welton is noted in " Percival on the 
Apostolic Succession." The Non-jurors lasted a cen- 
tury in England and Scotland. 

After the departure of Dr. Welton, the Rev. Robert 
Weyman occupied the " parsonage house," and seems 
to have officiated the greater part of the time ; the ves- 
try accepted the offer of Rev. ^lessrs. Leadman and 
Holbrook to lend their assistance. 

In 1726, Rev. Archibald Cummings took charge of 
the parish, and held it over fourteen years. The church 
was enlarged during his incumbency, the elder Dr. John 
Kearsley guiding the architecture. Mr. Cummings was 
the first clergyman styled rector. He died in 1741. His 
wife was Jane Elizabeth Assheton. The private register 
of Mr. Cummings, preserved by Christ Church vestry, 
shows that he was a most laborious man. Often four, 
and sometimes six funerals are recorded in one day. 
He presented several valuable books to the library of 
Christ Church. His death occured on a Sundav, and 



I 

T08 CHRIST CHURCH. ^' 

the faithful rector departed from this world on a day of 
worship to enter on a ceaseless worship in a higher and 
heavenly life. The wardens and vestry report his death 
to England, calling him a ''worthy minister." He was 
buried in the church, according to English custom, and 
it is added " with that Solemnity and Regard becoming 
the Universal good character and esteem which he 
bore among his acquaintance, of every Religious 
Denomination and Society, for his Learning, Piety, 
Moderation, and every other good Quality that might 
Adorn his sacred Function." The report was made to 
Bishop Gibson, of London. There was a happy inter- 
course between Mr. Cummings and the bishop, who 
gave counsel to the colonial priest. 

The Pennsylvania Gazette, in an obituary notice, 
styled Mr. Cummings Commissary of the Province of 
Pennsylvania, and of the three counties which used to 
be treated as a part of Pennsylvania, but now consti- 
tute the State of Delaware. He is described as a zeal- 
ous assertor of Christianity, professing the doctrines of 
the Church of England, a faithful pastor, and an able 
preacher, and an eminent example of piety. He was 
universally esteemed, and was charitable towards differ- 
ent religious societies, and his death was much lamented. 
The epitaph on the stone in the floor of the church 
states that Mr. Cummings was a graduate of Trinity 
College, Dublin. 

After the death of this rector, the neighboring clergy 
offer to serve the church by turns, until winter checks 
their travel. The vestry beg the bishop for a clergyman 
before winter. Wm. Pyewell and Joseph Danby were 
wardens, and Joseph Kearsley and Richard Peters were 
among the vestry. On a second paper, commending 
Richard Peters, Benjamin Morgan and W. Chancellor 



CHRIST CHURCH. 109 

J are added, making four church wardens. On the second 
paper the following names appear : Thomas Hopkinson, 
Thomas Greome, Tench Francis, George Claypole, 
James Wragg, Anthony Duche, Richard Farmar, James 
Pearson and Robert Greenway. 

Rev. Mr. Lindsey writes from New Bristol, upon 
!i Delaware of Mr. Cummings, saying : " He bore a most 
,i excellent character for learning and piety, and his death 
is universally lamented by all, and particularly by us 
missionaries, and will be hardh', I believe, forgotten by 
any of us while we live." 

After Mr. Cummings died Rev. Eneas Ross officiated 

for two years. He was an assistant minister, and aided 

Dr. Janney during a portion of that time. In 1743 he 

resigned his position, and became rector of Oxford and 

I Whitemarsh. 

The Rev. Doctors Jenney, Peters, Duche and White 
followed Mr. Cummings in the rectorship of Christ 
Church. I have treated of them in a discourse at St. 
Peter's Church, of which they were also rectors. I 
would add as to Rev. Thomas Coombe, the associate of 
jl Bishop White in assisting Dr. Peters, that in Dr. Bird 
|j Wilson's Life of the Bishop his literary knowledge is 
U spoken of. He was an author, and translated the Latin 
ij poems of his teacher, Beveridge, and wrote a poem 
entitled ** The Pennsylvania Auburn," apparently a con- 
tinuation of Goldsmith's *' Deserted Village." A notice 
of him is given in Duyckink's Cyclopaedia of Litera- 
ture. He was a pulpit orator. His mother was Sarah, 
daughter of Thomas Rutter. 

An interesting link in the rectorships of Christ 
Church is the fact that Dr. Jenney married Bishop 
White's parents and baptized their first-born son. Dr. 
Archer has sent me some extracts from the manuscript 



no CHRIST CHURCH. 

letters of the future bishop to Edward Benedict Hall, of 
Shandy Hall, Maryland, which treat of the friendships m 
of his companions in a lively way ; the stamp act and f 
its repeal are spoken of in a patriotic manner, and the 
lad of sixteen shows his serious turn of mind in the 
following words: "So Mr. Phillips has paid the debt 
which we must all one day discharge. In this particular 
the poor peasant enjoys the same privilege with the 
haughty tyrant. Oh, then, may we not say with the 
seraphic Dr. Young, 

" 'Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour, 

What though we wade in wealth or soar in fame, 
Earth's highest station ends in * here he lies,' 
And ' dust to dust' concludes her noblest song,' " 

The youthful Mr. Hall, to whom the letters were 
addressed, was a nephew of the first wife of the father 
of Bishop White, and was the grandfather of Rev. Dr. 
Wm F. Brand, the author of the Life of Bishop Whit- 
tingham. When Bishop White was a candidate for 
holy orders in England, he became acquainted with Dr. 
Johnson, and there is a pleasant letter from the doctor 
to him in Boswell. He also knew Drs. Kennicott and 
Lowth, and Goldsmith. 

The first official Episcopal act of Bishop White was 
the ordination of Joseph Clarkson to the diaconate in 
Christ Church, May 28th, A.D., 1787. There was no 
more need of a voyage of three thousand miles and 
back for ordination. There was a loving and faithful 
bishop at home, who could "visit the several churches, 
ordain some, confirm others, and bless all," as Rev. I 
John Talbot's plea for a bishop in America beautifully 
expressed it. Rev. Dr. John Henry Hopkins described 
his boyish interest in the visit of the bishop to Pitts- 
burgh, when his father, Bishop Hopkins, was the Rector 



CHRIST CHURCH. Ill 

of Trinity Church in that city. It was a sensation 
I when the green coach that had rolled from Philadelphia 
to Pittsburgh over the mountains came to its destina- 
tion. Bishop White held the Episcopal office over 
forty-nine years. He outlived the great prejudice 
against bishops, and consecrated many to that high 
office. Of those ordained by him the Rev. Drs. Clem- 
son, Hare, Morton and Buchanan and Rev. Benjamin 
Hutchins still survivp. 

The bishop was devoted to missions and the amelior- 
ation of prisons, and other benevolent works. He 
was a simple and instructive preacher. Bishop Davies 
has one of his manuscript sermons, comparing the 
character of St. John the Baptist to that of Christ. 
The handwriting is large and clear. The yellow paper 
is enclosed in a marbled-paper cover, and shows anti- 
quity. The sermon-book was home-made, and much 
smaller in size than those now used. A Convention 
Sermon of Bishop Madison, and Bishop Jarvis's sermon 
on the death of Bishop Seabury are among the relics 
of Bishop White's library at St. Peter's rectory. 

Bishop White was peaceful, and was not bitter to the 
loyalists, though he was chaplain to Congress, and 
Washington, who worshipped in this church, was his 
fast friend for life. While Bishop White was a man of 
peace, he was firm and decided when principle was 
involved. He was once the only resident Episcopal 
clergyman in Pennsylvania. The flocks were scattered 
in Revolutionary days, and folds wasted and shepherds 
driven away, as Anderson describes it ; still the lonely 
clergyman was hopeful and laborious, and he saw better 
days. His wise and loving zeal in strengthening the 
bonds of brotherhood in the English and American 
churches after the Revolution, deserve remembrance 
7 



112 CHRIST CHURCH. 

on both sides of the ocean. In his old prayer-book, 
the pasting of the prayer for the President over that 
for the King is a striking indication of the change of 
government. Pen erasures also note changes. The 
Church of England prayer-book was adapted for the 
use of the American Church by changes and omissions of 
State prayers before the American prayer-book was 
published. There was one of these corrected books 
at Christ Church, and another at St. Peter's. 

Bishop White was an unselfish and a hospitable man, 
and he was at the head of various benevolent societies. 
Bishop Stevens in his centennial discourse on the found- 
ing of this diocese, delivered in this church, quoted 
Wordsworth's lines : 

" To thee, O saintly White, 
Patriarch of a widespreading family, 
Remotest lands and unborn times shall turn, 
Whether they would restore or build." 

Bishop Perry devoted a discourse to the commem- 
oration of the centenary of the consecration of Bishop 
White. 

Bishop White consecrated Bishops Robert Smith, 
Bass, Dehon, Bowen, H. U. Onderdonk and Otey in 
Christ Church. Since Bishop White's day Bishops 
Carlton Chase, Cobbs, Hawks, Alonzo Potter and Bow- 
man have here been consecrated. Here Bishop White 
is buried, and Bishop Potter's funeral was observed 
when his spirit had passed from the Golden Gate of 
California to the gate of pearl above. The first and 
many succeeding Diocesan Conventions have met here, 
and the first General Convention chose this hallowed 
spot as a place of its meeting, while other General 
Conventions met here. 



CHRIST CHURCH. II3 

Rev. John Waller James became an assistant minister 
in Christ Church in 1832, and served faithfully four 
years, to the spiritual benefit of the congregation, who 
showed their lively appreciation of his services by elect- 
ing him rector at the death of Bishop White, in July, 
1836. He died four weeks afterward, to the sorrow of 
his friends and parishioners. He was buried in Christ 
Churchyard, near Bishop White's vault. He did good 
work in Sunday-schools, and his ministry was greatly 
blessed. As the railway traveler passes Huntingdon, 
Pennsylvania, he sees on his right, going westward, a 
neat church building with its tower, erected to the 
memory of Mr. James mainly by the Christ Church 
people, that they might give him, not a monument of 
dead marble but a place where the worship of Christ 
might be perpetuated on earth, while their late rector 
adored Him in paradise. May many other such monu- 
ments arise to the glory of God. Mr. James was 
rector of Christ Church, Meadville, when he was elected 
assistant minister at Christ Church, Philadelphia, for 
the lifetime of Bishop White, ''and until the Easter 
Monday following his decease." While this church was 
undergoing repairs Mr. James started to visit his rela- 
tives. He arrived at Huntingdon by the canal, in going 
to Pittsburgh, where his family lived, and he was so ill 
there that he was conveyed to an inn, and died there on 
the morning of Sunday, August 14th, A.D., 1836, aged 
thirty-one years. His body was brought to Christ 
churchyard, according to "his dying request." It is 
a striking fact that Bishop White and Rev. Mr. Cum- 
mings also died on a Sunday, and that Dr. Evans was 
attacked on Sunday, in Christ Church, with the disease 
which in a few days closed his earthly life. The Lord's 
Day is a fitting time for earthly worship to merge into 



114 CHRIST CHURCH. 

heavenly worship, and while the earthly temple fades 
from the sight of the dying eyes, the heavenly temple 
rises in beauty to replace it. The ladies of Christ 
Church had a tablet prepared to be placed in the 
Church, in the memory of the Rev. Mr. James." A 
clergyman who knew Mr. James describes him to me as 
a good, amiable and devoted man. The mural tablet 
affirms that the words he had spoken in life made him 
"happy in the prospect of death and heaven." An 
obituary appeared in the Protestant Episcopalian, and 
in the volume, ''The Inscriptions of Christ churchyard." 

The Rev. Benjamin Dorr, D.D., became rector of this 
church in 1837, being instituted on Ascension Day by 
Bishop Onderdonk. Many yet remember his long and 
faithful rectorate. Some notes prepared for me by the 
doctor's son-in-law, J. Edward Carpenter, Esq., and the 
polished discourse of the late John William Wallace,. 
Esq., President of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania, delivered before that society, afford ample means 
for a sketch of Dr. Dorr. He was born on the 2 2d of 
March, 1796, at Salisbury Point, Mass., and educated at 
the village .^ school and at Dartmouth College. He 
studied law, but gave up that pursuit for the ministry. 
He was a member of the first class in the General Theo- 
logical Seminary. Bishop Hobart ordained him dea- 
con in 1820, and priest in 1823. 

In 1827 he married Esther Kettell Odin, who was the 
daughter of John Odin, Esq., of Boston, and a descend- 
ant of Rev. William Walter, a former rector of Trinity 
Church, Boston, and of John Eliot, "the Apostle to 
the Indians," Rev. Increase Mather, and Chief Justice 
Lynde, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

The young clergyman held the rectorship of united 
churches in Lansingburg and Waterford, N. Y., from 



CHRIST CHURCH. I15 

1820 to 1829, and that of Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y., 
from 1829 to 1835. He was Secretary and General 
Agent of the Domestic Committee of the Board of 
Missions from 1835 to 1837, in which year he became 
rector of this church which post he held until his death 
in 1869. He was elected Bishop of Maryland in 1839, 
but declined the office, preferring in simple humility to 
dwell with his own loved flock, who rejoiced in retain- 
ing him. 

The University of Pennsylvania honored him with 
the degree of Doctor of Divinity. A number of his 
sermons and other works were published. 

The paternal ancestors of Dr. Dorr were early set- 
tlers in Roxbury, Mass., now a part of Boston. His 
mother, Ruth Dalton, was the descendant of an old 
family in Salisbury, Massachusetts. 

Rev. Dr. Leeds, formerly rector of St. Peter's Church, 
Philadelphia, preached a sermon commemorative of 
Dr. Dorr in Christ Church on the next All Saints' Day 
after his death. 

The doctor was passionately fond of ti-avel, and 
learned to read human nature in the old stage-coach in 
his early years, while in after life he was permitted to 
cross the ocean and look on the historic scenes of the 
I old world. His important position, as Secretary of the 
Missionary Board, caused him to travel much, and 
required such skill and zeal as is needed by a bishop. 
He was a true missionary. His delight at seeing a 
Christian Church in the Indian settlement at Oneida 
village, New York, under Bishop Hobart's care was 
great, and he prayed for a time when the Lord would 
call all heathen to a knowledge of Him. From the Gulf 
of Mexico to the northern lakes the laborious secretary 
traveled thousands of miles, when travel was laborious. 



Il6 CHRIST CHURCH. 

When the doctor took charge of Christ Church he 
found a staid parish, stamped with the quiet mind of 
Bishop White, and he continued the work in the same 
quiet confidence of Christian faith. His love for the 
parish is evinced by his bequest of a part of his Hbrary, 
and a goodly legacy for an endowment, that its blessed 
services may be maintained to the end of time. The 
inception and increase of this endowment was largely 
due to the labors of the faithful warden, Edward Lyon 
Clark. 

The chastening love of God, which draws His chil- 
dren homeward, was experienced by this " man of God," 
when his beloved son, William, the companion of his 
foreign travel, and his earthly hope, was snatched from 
him in the Southern War. His friends and comrades 
erected a tablet to his memory in this church, but his 
father had had a tablet on his heart, and has now gone 
to that son who could not return to him. The shadows 
are over and the day has dawned on father and son. 

For thirty-two years Dr. Dorr continued his faithful 
work here. Generations may bless his work in the Sun- 
day-schools, the Endovv'ment Fund and Hospital. The 
earnest preacher's words are no more heard, but his 
deeds remain. His pen was active, and many a mourner 
has been cheered by his book entitled " Recognition of 
Friends in Another World;" while his ''Churchman's 
Manual," and " History of a Pocket Prayer-Book," and 
writings on Sunday-school work and Confirmation and 
Communion, and the prophecies on Christ, with his 
travels, and his Memoir of Watson, the Annalist, have 
given useful information. His '* History of Christ 
Church " is invaluable, and he appended to it an account 
of the early history of the Church in Pennsylvania. He 
was an enthusiastic antiquary, and loved to bring up the 



CHRIST CHURCH. II7 

holy dead in the minds of their descendants. Such 
writings stimulate others to follow the examples of the 
worthies described ; as they look for aid to the same 
Saviour who stirred their activity in the divine life. 
"The Recognition of Friends" passed through nine 
editions, and the "Pocket Prayer-Book" was repub- 
lished in London and in Canada West. The author was 
a living epistle, and his good example in social and 
church life were the best comments on his writings. 

Dr. Dorr was sympathetic. I well remember encour- 
aging words he uttered to me in this church, coming 
gracefully from an aged clergyman closing his work to 
a younger brother with less experience. 

This good man died on Saturday, September i8th, 
1869, at his house in Manheim street, Germantown. Mr. 
Wallace beautifully describes the funeral scene, w^ien a 
vast throng assembled to pay the last tribute of love and 
affection to their rector, in this church, where he had 
ministered for nearly a third of a century. The services 
were conducted by Drs. Foggo and Rudder and Bishop 
Davies and Rev. Messrs. Wadleigh, Montgomery and 
Depuy. The Doctor was buried at Salisbury, Mass. 
He loved his simple childhood home, and writes delight- 
fully, in his diary, of revisiting it ; and meeting there 
father and brothers, and thinking grntly on a dead 
mother, whose image then naturally came before him. 
It was fitting that he should be laid to rest where he was 
born ; and he left a sum by will for the care of the coun- 
try cemetery, and his burial place. There he sleeps 
among his kindred, awaiting the call of the resurrection 
to meet his Christian friends once more for a lasting 
association. 

In Dr. Dorr's visit to England the list of Bishops and 
eminent clergy who did him honor is not a short one. 



Il8 CHRIST CHURCH. 

He mentions Rev. J. S. M. Anderson, the chaplain of 
Queen Adelaide, and afterward of Victoria, and this 
writer, I notice, mentions Dr. Dorr in his History of the 
Colonial Church ; speaking of his '' History of Christ 
Church," and of his declination of the Bishopric of 
Maryland. He was present at the consecration of 
Bishop Jackson, of Lincoln, and a delighted observer of 
the annual exhibition of the Charity Schools at St. 
Paul's, London, where thousands of voices praised God 
in unison. 

A bust of Dr. Dorr, carved in Rome, adorns the ves- 
try room of this church. The marble monument in the 
church which commemorates him, rightly quotes Isaiah, 
as to his feeding his flock as a " shepherd." 

Mrs. E. B. Souder composed a beautiful poem on the 
funeral of this rector, painting the surpliced priest in his 
coffin, among the flowers which loving hands had strewn 
upon him, with the muffled bells and sorrowing congre- 
gation and mournful music and attendant priests, dosing 
thus : 

" The cross and crown, fit tokens 
Of thy life and sure reward — 
To dwell with saints in glory. 
And with our risen Lord." 

At Ledger Place and Lagrange Street, a few steps 
from this church, is the old rectory, of black and red 
English brick, whence Dr. Jenney and other clergy used 
to walk across the grass, in their vestments, to the 
church. It was altered for business purposes. There 
was a later rectory in Arch Street, where the St. Elmo 
Hotel stands. 

Mr. Wallace's dedication of the Memoir of Dr. Dorr 
styles Dr. Foggo 'Mong the faithful assistant of the 
lamented Dorr, now his honored successor." For 



CHRIST CHURCH. II9 

twenty-eight years he has served this church, and long 
may his faithful and patient service continue. He is the 
twelfth rector, and these rectors have sometimes re- 
mained long in their positions, showing the loving 
relation of pastor and people. 

Christ Church bears the holy name of our common 
Saviour. The Scripture has told us that He is ''the same 
yesterday, and to-day and forever, ' ' and so may this church 
firmly stand, echoing the same Christian truths in the 
coming ages, as were uttered by Clayton and Evans and 
White and Dorr and the other rectors, in the days that 
are gone ; and may those truths, impressed by the Spirit 
of God, bring many souls to that good land above where 
praise is endless and worship perpetual. 



I20 , ST. PETER S CHURCH. 



CHAPTER XII. 
St. Peter's Church. 

" Mine house shall be called an House of Prayer for all people. 
—Isa. 5<5 .• 7. 

THESE Divine words are inscribed above the 
ancient pulpit of this church, and we will en- 
deavor to trace the 'lives of those who have here 
led the prayers and praises of the "joyful " people of 
God. 

In 1754 a largely signed petition was presented to the 
proprietaries, Thomas and Richard Penn, for the gift of 
a lot for a new church. The late John William Wallace 
owned the original document. The lot was increased 
by purchase, and is now a square in extent, and sacred 
as the burying place of many who have died in Christ. 
The present wall has guarded the cemetery for about a 
century. 

On the 4th of September, 1 761, the present church 
was opened, the celebratad Dr. William Smith preaching 
the sermon. He was Provost of the College of Philadel- 
phia, now the University of Pennsylvania. There was no 
bishop to consecrate the building, as Pennsylvania was 
then a dependence of Great Britain, ruled by George the 
Third. The Church in Pennsylvania was under the 
care of the Bishop of London. The Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was aiding 
the American churches nobly, and its reports, collected 
by Bishop Perry, are used in these notes. 




ST. PETER S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 



ST. PETERS CHURCH. 12 1 

The rector of Christ Church, when St. Peter's was 
opened, was Rev. Robert Jenney, LL.D. He became 
the rector of the new church, as the parishes were united. 
The Rev. Dr. Sprague, in his "Annals," which have 
aided my investigations^ states that this clergyman was 
the son of the Archdeacon of Waneytown, in the North 
of Ireland. He came to America in 1715, and assisted 
Rev. Wm. Vesey, in Trinity Church, New York. He 
was afterward at Rye and Hempstead, L. L, and in 1742 
became rector of Christ Church. He died at the age 
of seventy-five in 1762, having been fifty-two years in 
the ministry and over nineteen years rector of Christ 
Church. He is buried under the middle aisle of that 
church. Provost Wm. Smith, in his funeral sermon, 
says : *' He was a man venerable in years, and a striking 
pattern of Christian resignation under a long and severe 
illness. Those who knew him best in that situation 
know that his chief concern was not for himself, but 
for the distressed and perplexed state of his congrega- 
tion. He was a man of strict honesty, one who hated 
dissimulation and a lie, exemplary in his life and morals, 
and a most zealous member of the Episcopal Church." 
He held the office of Commissary. He receives notice 
in Rev. Mr. Anderson's '* History of the Colonial 
Church," and in Dr. Dorr's " History of Christ Church." 

Dr. Jenney begs the Propagation Society for a cate- 
chist, and writes of the one church in New York City. 
Think of the multitude of churches on Manhattan Island 
from Trinity Spire to King's Bridge, and thank God 
for the increase. Dr. Jenney refers to Mr. Charleton's 
excellent catechetical work in New York, and declares 
that the negroes in Philadelphia need a catechist. The 
negroes were generally disposed to religion. The rector 
baptized many, and several were communicants. The 



122 ST. PETER S CHURCH. 

numerous congregation in Philadelphia made the duty 
"exceedingly severe" for an aged man, who expected 
soon to be worn out with fatigue, and an assistant is 
asked for, as a younger man than the rector could not 
perform the work alone. In 1747 the Doctor writes the 
Society that he has lately had a " fit of a dead palsey," 
and gives the vestry special advice as to what kind of a 
man should succeed him when a change became neces- 
sary. He made his wife promise that his successor 
should have the privilege of reading his books about 
the Constitution of the Church, like St. Peter providing 
fot things after his decease. This indicates a scarcity of 
books, contrasting strongly with the flood of literature 
printed to-day. There was, however, a parish library 
for Christ Church. The society gave books on theology 
to the parishes, some of which may yet be preserved. 
The heavy folios did not look like our small and handy 
volumes. Dr. Jenney labored under the Propagation 
Society from 1744 in New York and Philadelphia. In 
1760 he had been fifty years a minister of the church, 
and was unable to write through ''great bodily indis- 
position." In 1765 Rev. Wm. Sturgeon, the faithful 
assistant, writes that *' Dr. Jenney was seized with a 
palsey which continued to his death," and for more than 
five years " the whole duty of the parish had fallen on 
him." The good soldier of Christ had finished his work 
and went to his heavenly home for rest and refreshment. 
The Rev. Dr. Richard Peters was the next rector of 
the united churches in 1762. He was the uncle of Judge 
Richard Peters Vvdio resided at Belmont, in Fairmount 
Park, as Watson notes in his ''Annals." He was for a 
time assistant to Rev. Archibald Cummings, and after- 
ward served as Secretary of State under various gov- 
ernors. He was from Liverpool, England, and was 



ST. PETERS CHURCH. I 23 

well educated. He came to Philadelphia as an English 
Church .clergyman in 1735. The vestry of Christ Church 
note his influence when assistant in drawing dissenters 
in "great numbers" into the Church of England. He 
resigned the assistantship, but in 1762 took the place of 
Mr. Duche, then an assistant, who went to England to 
receive priests' orders. On Mr. Duche's return, Dr. 
Peters was elected rector. In 1764 he visited England, 
and returning in 1765 was welcomed by the vestry at 
the parsonage. Oxford University made him a Doctor 
of Divinity. Thomas Coombe and William White be- 
came his assistants in 1772. In 1775 he resigned the 
united churches by reason of bodily infirmity, having 
held the rectorship thirteen years. The vestry passed 
appreciative resolutions, for wdiich the rector thanked 
them in a loving manner. He lived among his congre- 
gation till his death in July, 1776, at the age of seventy- 
two. Dr. Peters was liberal in pecuniary aid to his 
church, and appeared kind and genial in his letters 
perused by Dr. Sprague. According to Bishop White, 
he was interesting in discoursing on literature, classics 
or history Jeremiah Langhorne wrote the Bishop of 
London, requesting that Mr. Peters might be assistant 
to Mr. Cummings, as he was so satisfactory to the con- 
gregation. His father is spoken of as Ralph Peters, 
town clerk of Liverpool, and the son is described as an 
able man. He had been educated at Westminster 
School and in Leyden, and had studied law. He was 
ordained deacon by the Bishop of Winchester in 
1730, and priest the next year. He served Latham 
Chapel in Lancaster County, England, in the Diocese 
of Chester. Mr. Langhorne styles him " the worthiest 
clergyman that I have known." In 1763 John Ross 
writes that he has been chosen rector, and was "eminent 



124 ST. PETERS CHURCH. 

as a divine preacher." He was satisfied that he 
would *'be of vast service to the Church of England in 
this province." In 1763 Dr. Peters writes the Arch- 
bishop as rector. He led a laborious life, which Bishop 
Perry says was ** closed by an honored and useful min- 
isterial service of thirteen years." Dr. Peters arranged 
the particulars of the union of Christ and St. Peter's 
Churches with Archbishop Seeker, of Canterbury, when 
he was in England. This rector was buried under the 
middle ''aisle of Christ Church, near the chancel rail," 
as Dr. Dorr records. 

The successor of Dr. Peters was that brilliant man, 
Rev. Dr. Jacob Duche. He was the son of Jacob 
Duche, a vestryman of Christ Church, and the grandson 
of Anthony or Andrew Duche, who came to this 
country with William Penn as a Protestant refugee from 
France. The life of this gifted clergyman was striking 
and romantic. Born in Philadelphia in 1737, he was the 
first graduate of the College of Philadelphia under 
Provost Smith. There were many letters from him to 
Dr. Smith among that gentleman's papers. Young 
Duche was sent by his father to Clare Hall, in the 
English University, of Cambridge, to continue his 
studies, and was ordained by Bishop Sherlock. In the 
records of the venerable Propagation Society there is a 
letter from Provost Smith to the Bishop, to be delivered 
by Mr. Duche, which commends him as a "young gen- 
tleman of good fortune, bred up in our college under 
me. He has distinguished himself as a scholar and 
orator on many public occasions, and from the most 
disinterested motives has devoted himself to the Church. 
He proposes to spend some time at the University in 
England, and goes from this place in company with Mr. 
Hamilton, our late governor. He is in every respect a 



ST. PETERS CHURCH. 1 25 

youth of the most hopeful parts and not unworthy the 
honor of your lordship's protection and notice." Dr. 
Smith, in writing of Mr. Duche to the secretary of the 
Society, in 1760, styles him ''that shining youth," and 
speaks of his popularity. The Rev, Samuel Nichols, 
secretary of the Bishop of London, describes him at 
his ordination as *'a very promising young gentleman." 
Dr. Peters commends him to the Archbishop as de- 
servedly esteemed for piety, and " strong, lively manner 
of enforcing Christian doctrines and duties." When 
Dr. Peters resigned Mr. Duche was the senior assistant, 
and was chosen rector September 25th, 1775. He and 
his two assistants, the Rev. Messrs. Coombe and White, 
were natives of Philadelphia. Mr. Duche had been 
assistant for sixteen years. His election to the rector- 
ship indicates his reputation, though he was only a little 
over two years in the active exercise of that rectorship. 
Most of the vestry had known the new rector from 
childhood, and wrote the Bishop of London of his excel- 
lent religious character. Dr. Duche married Elizabeth 
Hopkinson, whose brother Francis was noted in the 
Revolution, and a signer of the Declaration of Lide- 
pendence. She died in 1797. The Doctor was affec- 
tionate and benevolent, cheerful and resigned, and em- 
inently religious. 

Bishop White was the lifelong friend of Parson 
Duche. He describes his voice and action in preaching 
as commendable. Being near-sighted, he memorized 
his sermons effectively. The Bishop styled Whitefield 
the best reader of the Prayers that he ever heard, and 
places Duche next. The Bishop also acknowledges the 
benefits of the instructions received from him. Many 
thought Duche a rival of the eloquent Whitefield, and 
he held the office of Professor of Oratory in the 



126 ST. Peter's church. 

College of Philadelphia. Bishop White deemed him 
not inferior to Whitefield in correct pronunciation. 

The house of ** Parson Duche," as he was called, 
stood on the northeast corner of Third and Pine Streets, 
and is said to have been patterned after '* one of the 
wings of Lambeth Palace." His father gave it to him. 

Those who read the early records of the missionaries 
are struck with their constant and earnest pleadings 
that Bishops might be sent to this country. Duche 
tried to secure the Episcopate for the United States after 
the Revolution, and was present, at Bishop White's 
request, on the glad day when he was consecrated in 
the chapel of Lambeth Palace, in 1787. His presence 
gratified the Bishop, who had received his care almost 
from infancy, and who had worked harmoniously under 
him as assistant minister. 

When the Junius Letters appeared, Dr. Duche wrote 
concerning them over the acrostic signature **Tamoc 
Caspipina," that is, *'the Assistant Minister of Christ 
Church and St. Peter's, in Philadelphia, in North 
America." On September 7th, 1774, he appeared be- 
fore Congress, in Carpenters' Hall in his vestments, with 
his clerk, and read a service from the Prayer Book, 
adding a moving and earnest extemporary prayer. 
One of the Psalms in the Morning Psalter was the 
thirty-fifth, which prays God to ** lay hand on shield and 
buckler," and to give His help. John Adams wrote his 
wife that it seemed as if /' Heaven had ordained its 
reading." Sparks and Irving note the circumstance in 
their" Lives of Washington," and many of you are fam- 
iliar with the picture of the scene. He preached a 
patriotic sermon before Congress on a Fast day, and also 
on the death of its first president, Peyton Randolph. 
He was made chaplain. Moore's " Patriotic Preachers 



ST. PETER S CHURCH. 1 27 

of the Revolution " gives his Congressional sermon. 
When chaplain he devoted his salary to the families 
who had had relatives slain in battle. He became dis- 
couraged with the progress of the war, and wrote 
Washington advising its cessation. The trouble that 
followed this act, for himself and family, is noted in the 
printed archives of the State of Pennsylvania, but after 
the lapse of over a century we can understand that one 
bred to obey a king might conscientiously hesitate, and 
allow him to rest in peace at your altar, where he has 
long been buried, where the Blessed Sacrifice of Christ 
is remembered as a link between the dead and the 
living. Duche went to England it is supposed, to com- 
municate with Bishop Terrick, of London, about his 
political views. Anderson's "Colonial Church" notes that 
Bishop Terrick died in A.D,, 1777, and Bishop Lowth 
succeeded him. While in England Duche was a preacher 
in Lambeth Asylum. In 1790 he returned to Philadel- 
phia, in poor health, and died in 1798, nearly sixty years 
old. He never resumed his connection with the united 
churches of Philadelphia, but rejoiced in the work of 
Bishop White, taking a lively interest in the churches. 
Bishop White followed Dr. Duche in the rectorship, 
kindly stipulating that if it was thought best for Duche 
to resume it, if he returned from England, he would 
give place to him. The Rev. Professor Bird Wilson 
has given a volume to the life of the Bishop, and Dr. 
Sprague's account was aided by Dr. Dorr's " History of 
Christ Church," and a manuscript from T. H. White, 
Esq. The Bishop's father was Colonel Thomas White, 
who came from London to the eastern shore of Mary- 
land, where he practiced law. The Bishop's sister 
was Mary, \vife of Robert Morris, signer of the Dec- 
laration of Independence. William White was born in 



128 ST. Peter's church. 

Philadelphia, March 24th, old style, 1747, or April 4th, 
1748, new style. His "Reminiscences" to his special 
friend, Bishop Hobart, give an account of his early life. 
At seven he was in the preparatory school of the Col- 
lege of Philadelphia, under Ebenezer Kinnersly, and 
at ten in the grammar school taught by Paul Jackson, 
and at fourteen in college, graduating in 1765. His 
good mother instructed him religiously, and he was 
affected by the preaching of Whitefield. From childhood 
he was religious. In 1770 he went to England for 
ordination, finding at times a pleasant home with his 
father's sisters, who resided there, and seeing something 
of the English Church and of Oxford, 

This pious lad, who had been baptized in Christ 
Church, the first English church built in Philadelphia, 
and had, like St. Timothy, as a boy praised God and 
prayed unto Him in those sacred walls, was ordained 
deacon by Bishop Young, of Norwich, and priest by 
Bishop Terrick, of London ; and was seven years 
assistant minister of the united churches, and fifty- 
seven years longer their rector. He and the Rev. 
Thomas Coombe became assistants to Rev. Dr. Peters. 
In the Revolution, Bishop White was chaplain to Con- 
gress, and held the post until its removal to Washing- 
ton. In 1779 he became rector, which position he occu- 
pied at his death. He was the first person who received 
a Doctorate in Divinity from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1782. He was consecrated Bishop in 1787 by 
Archbishops Moore and Markham, and Bishops Moss 
and Hinchcliffe. Drs. Provoost and White reached 
England in eighteen days, which is said to have been 
the shortest passage made up to that time. The last 
sermon of Bishop White was preached in St. Peter's 
Church, on the last Sunday in June, 1836. He died on 



ST. PETERS CHURCH. 1 29 

the 17th of July following, on Sunday morning, when 
the churches had just been praying for their beloved 
ruler. He was in his 89th year. His dying faith in 
Christ was firm, and he asked that hymns should be 
sung in his sick room. He was buried in the family 
vault at Christ Church. His assistant, Rev. John W. 
James, read the Burial Service. The Bishop died in his 
house, on Walnut Street, above Third Street (No. 89, 
now demolished), where he had lived over fifty years. 
At the funeral the city stood still ; the stores were 
generally closed where the procession passed. The 
public authorities and the clergy in general combined to 
honor the memory of the departed prelate, while silent 
thousands thronged the streets. Bishop Alonzo Potter 
compared the streets to *' one hall of mourning." Bishop 
Onderdonk, in his funeral sermon, said that while the 
Bishop had spent his life in one place from infancy to 
extreme age there was not a whisper against him. Hon. 
Joseph R. Ingersoll mentions his ** purity and single 
ness of purpose." Rev. James S. M. Anderson, in his 
''History of the Colonial Church," gives an English 
estimate of his character, which moved the praise of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, when Dr. Hawks conveyed 
a letter from him to that prelate. Mr. Anderson speaks 
of the memory of Bishop White as a great benefit to 
Pennsylvania and the whole American church, and 
declares that his name "will ever be held in grateful 
memory on either side of the Atlantic " for labors ''to 
renew and strengthen" Christian bonds between Eng- 
land and the Colonies after the Revolution. The Bishop 
was a voluminous writer, because he was very industri- 
ous. He left many printed works behind him. Inman 
and Sully have given us portraits of him. Dr. Sprague 
describes his appearance as majestic, and his counte- 
nance as intelligent and lovely, lighting sometimes into 



130 ST. PETER S CHURCH. 

sunbeams. He was amiable, and his manner was 
dignified, though winning ; while his conversation was 
edifying. Bishop Alonzo Potter says that in his old 
age he was erect and not attenuated, with a benignant 
face, and without self-consciousness, though beloved by 
all denominations in the city beyond anyone else, as 
the notice he received in walking the streets indicated. 
When the wrinkles multiplied, and the hairs whitened, 
and the step grew feebler, the brave old Bishop still 
tried to walk without the aid of others, but at last the 
clay cottage broke down and the spirit escaped heaven- 
ward. 

The wife of Bishop White was Mary Harrison, of 
English birth, whose father was a warden of Christ 
Church, and mayor of the city of Philadelphia. She 
died in 1797. 

Rev. William Sturgeon, assistant minister, graduated 
at Yale in 1745, in the class of Rev, Dr. Chandler and 
Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Leaming, and began to assist Dr. 
Jenney in 1747, continuing his work until 1766, resign- 
ing on account of ill health. He died Nov. 5th, 1772. 
He was ordained in England, and held his post for nine- 
teen years. He catechised the white children and the 
negroes, and was very useful. Dr. Jenney styles him 
**a very good man, sober in his conversation and dili- 
gent in his business." For over seventeen years he 
performed the pleasant duty of preaching the Gospel 
*' to the poor" at the City Almshouse on Tuesdays. 
He officiated at the opening of St. Peter's Church. Dr. 
Jenney commends him as '' a faithful and painful min- 
ister" who assisted him in his illness. Mr. Sturgeon 
wrote the Archbishop of Canterbury about conferences 
he had held with some Lutherans as to their uniting 
with the Church of England, and " one of their chief 



ST. PETER S CHURCH. 131 

ministers " wrote him on the subject, and he sent a 
copy to Dr. Bearcroft, the secretary of the Propa- 
gation Society, asking him to lay it before the gov- 
ernors of the Church. 

Rev. Thomas Coombe became assistant in 1772. He 
was commended with John Montgomery for holy orders 
in 1768. Both were educated at the College of Phila- 
delphia. They and three other young men had de- 
livered ''Sunday Evening Exercises" so that about a 
.thousand persons generally attended them. They were 
"excellent speakers," Mr. Coombe being especially strik- 
ing. Mr. Coombe, with his associate, Mr. White, was 
respected and beloved, but having espoused the Amer- 
ican side for a time, his conscience and his oath made 
him a Royalist, and he went to England and never re- 
turned. The vestry commended him to the Bishop of 
London for his good service. He resigned in 1778, and 
became chaplain to Lord Carlisle in L'eland. Trinity 
College, Dublin, made him a Doctor in Divinity. He 
was a Prebendary of Canterbury, and one of the numer- 
ous chaplains of the king. He loved Bishop White, 
and wrote affectionately to him from his English home. 

Rev. Robert Blackwell, D.D., was assistant from 
1781 to 1812. This gentleman was eminent in the 
early councils for the formation of the American. 
Church. 

The great grandfather of Dr. Blackwell was Robert 
Blackwell, who took up much land on Long Island, 
opposite New York City, and the whole of Blackwell's 
Island, in the East River. Colonel Jacob Blackwell the 
father of the assistant minister of Christ and St. Peter's 
Churches, inherited these lands. The Doctor was born 
on the 6th of May, A.D., 1748. He graduated at Prince- 
ton in 1768. Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, rector of Trinity 



132 ST. PETER S CHURCH. 

Church, New York, commended him to Rev. Richard 
Peters as one calculated to gain love and esteem from 
the people, and as being of a very pleasant disposition. 
He was ordained in England, and a missionary of the 
Propagation Society to Colestown, Gloucester and 
Clarksborough, in New Jersey, and was a chaplain of 
the American Army at Valley Forge. In 1781 he be- 
came assistant in this parish, where he worked for thirty 
years. The vestry and Bishop White commended him. 
He was a member of various benevolent societies, and 
Bishop White said that he had aided him in the noble 
Corporation for the Relief of the Widows and Children 
of the Clergy for fifty-six years, and after the close of 
the Revolution that aid was very effective, as pecuniary 
matters were greatly disturbed in the whole country. 

Dr. Blackwell was the senior assistant in the united 
churches, and was a scholarly preacher. His first wife 
was the daughter of Joseph and Ann Harrison, of 
Gloucester, N, J. Her name was Rebecca. His second 
wife was the daughter of William Bingham. This 
clergyman died P'ebruary 12th, 1831. He founded by 
will a scholarship in the General Theological Seminary. 
Charles R. Hildeburn's Inscriptions in St. Peter's 
churchyard furnish the materials which I have given 
you, as recorded by John William Wallace. 

The other day I visited Dr. Blackwell's former resi- 
dence, 224 Pine Street. It isanantique brick house, two 
and a half stories high, with a semicircular window over 
the front door, and an ample hall and old-fashioned 
stairway within, while the wainscot and the beautiful 
woodwork over the inner doors tell of a former day. A 
door opened toward the Delaware River, on the east, 
but a block of houses now crowd their ancient neighbor, 
and forbid a sight of the water. The black and red 



ST. PETER S CHURCH. I33 

alternated brick wall in front is divided at each story by 
a stone band. Here lived also Bishop De Lancey, and 
the house has hence a double interest to the members 
of this parish. At No. 238 Pine Street lived Mrs. 
George Willing, the daughter of Dr. Blackwell, and in 
olden times a garden extended where eight houses have 
now intruded. The last named dwelling has been 
modernized. 

Rev. Joseph Grove John Bend, D.D., was assistant 
from 1787 to 1 791. The Rev. Dr. Ethan Allen gave an 
account of him in Sprague, from the records of St. 
Paul's Church, Baltimore, and his letters, and from 
Hugh Davy Evans, LL.D., who was his parishioner. 
He was born in New York, educated in Barbadoes for 
commerce, but ordained in New York in 1787 in Bishop 
Provoost's first ordination. Bishop Moore, of Virginia, 
being ordained with him. He was a delegate from 
Pennsylvania to the General Convention. He became 
rector of St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, and a member 
of the Standing Committee of Maryland. Christ Church, 
Baltimore, grew up under his care, with an associate 
rector. He was very successful in his work, but died in 
his fiftieth year, in 181 2. He was generous and liberal 
to the poor, and indefatigable in parish work. 

After Bishop White's death the rectorship of St. 
Peter's fell to the Rev. Mr. De Lancey, according to the 
arrangement when he became assistant. Those who 
knew this noble man need no description of him. He 
was every inch a bishop. In person and manner there 
was a quiet but commanding dignity about him. He 
was large and well-formed, and one to draw the attention 
of a stranger. I was once at his hospitable board, and 
listened to his counsel, in Geneva, which, like its Swiss 
parent, lies on a beautiful lake. There, honored in his 



134 ST. PETERS CHURCH. 

Diocese and by the church at large, this scholarly bishop 
ended his days on earth in 1865. His sermon at Bishop 
Eastburn's consecration on the faithful Bishop painted 
his own life. He was faithful to death, looking for the 
promised *' crown of life." In that sermon he traced 
the Episcopate in Scripture and antiquity. He believed 
in his office, and discharged its weighty duties accord- 
ingly. While Bishop of Western New York, in 1861, 
he preached a most interesting centennial sermon in this 
church, which was printed. 

Bishop Odenheimer succeeded Bishop De Lancey 
from 1839 to 1859 in this rectorship, when he was quite 
young. As Bishop of New Jersey, and afterward of 
Northern New Jersey, now Newark, he left a record of 
noble work for the Master, which fittingly followed his 
patient and successful rectorship here. He started the 
daily service. 

From i860 to 1867 the Rev. Dr. George Leeds held the 
rectorship of this ancient parish. He was a graceful 
and polished man, whose scholarship and knowledge of 
church affairs made him useful in the General Conven- 
tion, as well as in this Diocese. He has closed his 
earthly work. 

The present assistant, Rev. A. J. Miller, son of Rev. 
A. A. Miller, who assisted Bishop De Lancey for a time, 
writes me that the following clergy are buried in St. 
Peter's churchyard : Rev. Hugh Roy Scott, of the Afri- 
can Mission, the Revs. Robert Mackie, Lewis C. New- 
man, Dr. James Abercrombie, Dr. Robert Blackwell, 
Dr. George Alexander Crooke, Rev. Joseph Jacquet 
and Rev. Julius Townsend. To these must be added 
the name of Rev. Augustus Foster Lyde, who may be 
said to be the originator of the China Mission, to which 
he had devoted himself. When told that he must die, 




4':s 



BISHOP DAVIES. 



ST. PETER S CHURCH. 135 

he wept and paced his room, crying, ''Can it be so? 
Shall I never be allowed to preach the Gospel in China ?" 
He added that he would labor for the cause while he 
lived. He did thus labor, and one of his fellow-students 
at the General Seminary went to China by his influ- 
ence, as Rev. S. D. Denison notes in his ''History of 
Foreign Missions." St. Peter's holds a precious trust 
in the grave of this devoted man, to stimulate her zeal 
in calling the heathen to a knowledge of Christ and 
His salvation. 

This church has had but eight rectors in one hundred 
and twenty-nine years. Dr. Davies succeeded Dr. 
Leeds in 1868, and is the only one of these rectors now 
living, and he has so approved himself to the church at 
large, in religious life and church woik, that, like four 
of his predecessors, he has been called higher in position 
and duty as Bishop of Michigan. For about a score 
of years he has baptized your children, and presented 
them for confirmation, and broken for you the Bread 
of Life. He has blessed those who were entering into 
holy matrimony, and uttered the words of Christian hope 
over your dead. You are sadly, and yet joyfully, to lend 
him to the Lord. Your prayers and alms will follow him, 
and when invested with his new office may he often 
return, as "a Bishop in the Church of God," to bless you 
and to tell you of new conquests won over "sin, Satan and 
death" in the Diocese where Bishop Harris has so well 
prepared the way for his work. Canada lies next this 
jurisdiction, and there is an opportunity of continuing 
Bishop White's work in brightening the links which join 
the American Church with the Church of England, which 
gave us life and fostered us in our weakness, as St. 
Peter's "Church History" shows. 

It is interesting to note that the great uncle of Dr. 
Davies, named Thomas Davies, was a missionary of the 



136 ST. Peter's church. 

Propagation Society in Connecticut. Sprague has a 
sketch of him. He was born in England and brought 
to this land in infancy, but in mature years returned to 
be ordained by Archbishop Sherlock. He did a noble 
work, and an aged clergyman gave his opinion that if 
the time had then come for establishing the American 
Episcopate he might have been considered a fit person 
to receive it. His father, John Davies, Jr., built a 
church, and the clergyman's grandfather, John Davies, 
donated a tract of land to the church which still yields 
an income to Litchfield and several neighboring par- 
ishes. St. Michael's Parish was organized by the efforts- 
of John Davies, Sr. 

When St. Peter's was opened, Pittsburgh was a fort, 
and the empire of Pennsylvania mostly unimproved. 
Now it has three dioceses and hundreds of clergy. 
Michigan, was a desert, the home of the savage and 
the wild beast ; now it is entering on the third million 
of population ; while Detroit, with its many churches, 
has about a quarter of a million inhabitants. When 
your ancestors came to the opening of St. Peter's in 
their Continental dress they passed gardens and yards 
adorned with flowers where now are solid blocks of 
houses. Their lives and business varied from ours, but 
the same sins led them to the same Saviour, and the 
same joys brought them hither to thank God. They 
needed the plaintive Litany, and cheerful Psalm, and 
jubilant Te Deum, and instructive Scripture lessons 
which we have heard to-day ; and they came here and 
heard them, and stepped heavenward by their aid. 
Perhaps those who are buried around us join in our 
devotions this morning, for a thin wall separates earth 
and paradise. The church below thus becomes "the 
gate of heaven," and introduces to heaven, where the 



ST. PETERS CHURCH. I37 

laity and clergy of past generations shall meet to continue 
their ceaseless worship of Christ, and 

** Pastors and people shout His praise, 
Through the long round of endless days." 

It is St. Michael and All Angels' Day, and while we 
try to learn to join "with angels and archangels" in 
worshiping God here, let us hear how Waller, in his 
"Art of Divine Poesie," blends the adoration of men 
and angels : 

" The church triumphant and the church below 
In songs of praise their present union show ; 
Their joys are full, our expectations long, 
In life we differ but we join in song ; 
Angels and we assisted by this art, 
May sing together, though we dwell apart. ' ' 

In closing this sketch it is worthy of note that three 
clergy, Bishops White and Odenheimer and Bishop- 
elect Davies, held the rectorship for about a century, 
though not consecutively. Few parishes can show 
such a record. The loyalty of the parish to its clergy 
has been constant and is commendable, while Bishop 
De Lancey noted that its wardens had been in general 
men of age and experience, and so the parish has stood 
firm, not given to change in any way, like St. Peter, the 
Rock-man, whose name it bears. 

The large graveyard, where the trees lovingly shelter 
the dead in Christ, who, as Dr. Duche's inscription 
beautifully expresses it, "have passed from temporal to 
eternal and angelic life," has a country look in a city 
street, as Trinity churchyard faces busy Wall Street, in 
New York, teaching of something more important than 
worldly wealth. As the thoughtful observer passes St. 
Peter's yard he may be thankful that there were those 
who, like Abraham at Sarah's burial, wished a sure 



138 ST. Peter's church. 

resting place for their beloved dead. Just above lies 
the Pine Street Presbyterian cemetery, and for over a 
hundred years those who had been friends in life have 
quietly slept under the summer green covering and 
winter's pure snow. As their monuments look on each 
other in the broad sunlight or under the still moon, may 
we not imagine their spirits as associated in paradise, 
and hope and pray for a time on earth when God's peo- 
ple may be one. The quiet and dignified St. Peter's, 
and the simple and staid Presbyterian Church which is 
its neighbor, are old landmarks. When good Dr. Brain- 
erd, the faithful pastor for many a year of the Pine 
Street Church died, Dr. Leeds wrote a letter testifying 
to his worth, which I have read in the memoir of that 
clergyman, written by his wife. The bell of St. Peter's 
Church tolled on the day of his funeral. Is this not a 
premonition of the time when " there shall be one fold 
under one Shepherd, and when believers in Christ shall 
fulfill the dying prayer of their Lord, that they may be 
one, as He and the Father are One, may we all come 
to those " still waters " and " green pastures" where 
strife ends and eternal love reigns ; and then shall we 
better understand what is meant by All Angels' Day. 

Since this discourse was delivered Dr. Davies has been 
consecrated and Rev. Dr. W. H. Vibbert, has become 
rector of St. Peter's, having resigned St. James's Church, 
Chicago to enter on this work and may the Lord give 
him great success in continuing the labors of his illus- 
trious predecessors for Christ and His Holy Church. 

It is pleasant to note that Bishop Morris, of Oregon, 
was present in the chancel at the delivery of this sermon. 
He was once called to St. Peter's Church, and has 
written valuable notes on the history of the Church in 
Pennsylvania, as may be seen by a reference to *' Penn- 
sylvania" in the Church Cyclopaedia. 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 139 



CHAPTER XIII. 

St. James's Church. 

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." — 
5/. James, 1:1. 

THE saints aTnd the suffering but triumphing Christ 
who glorify the east window of this church fitly 
introduce our theme. St. James was a saint 
because he was the ''servant of God ; " and the saintly 
men who have ministered at this altar have striven to 
follow the example of him who was honored in the 
naming of this church by Bishop White. Their faith is 
also to be followed, considering that "the end of their 
conversation " was Christ, who changes not in the passing 
generations. 

The first building occupied by St. James's Church 
was on Seventh Street, just above Market Street, on the 
east side. It was consecrated in A.D., 1809. Christ 
Church, St. Peter's and St. Paul's were the only other 
Episcopal Churches then in the city. The General 
Convention of 18 14 met here in the opening of that 
body, and Bishop Moore, of Virginia, was then conse- 
crated. Bishop Hobart preaching the sermon. 

Bishop White was the rector of Christ Church, St. 
Peter's, and St. James's, which were united. He preached 
the sermon when St. James's Church was consecrated. 
Bishop Alonzo Potter styled* this patriarch, "The 
Legislator and Sage of the Church." The other bishops 
paid him deference. This learned and wise man presided 
at the General Conventions, and consecrated twenty-six 



140 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

bishops. In Bishop White's house the meeting was 
held to prepare the Constitution of the American Church, 
and it has been beautifully said that, while the clergy 
appeared "as a grain of mustard seed," the seed sown 
in faith and watered with prayers, is now a Great Tree, 
"stretching out her branches unto the sea, and her 
boughs unto the river." Bishop White was for many 
years the only living link between the English and 
American Churches, being the only survivor of the four 
bishops consecrated abroad. The courage of the good 
bishop in the yellow fever and cholera visitations should 
be remembered. When eighty-five years old, he was 
working faithfully among cholera patients, and striving 
to point others to that Paradise, which he was so soon 
to enter. This venerable and saintly man died in 1836. 

According to Rev. Dr. Dorr's list, in his excellent 
History of Christ Church, Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie 
was assistant minister of the united churches from 1794 
to 1832. A photograph of him, presented by F. Gurney 
Smith, may be seen in the vestry-room of St. Peter's 
Church. Much of Dr. Abercrombie's work was per- 
formed at St. Peter's as Bishop Davies informs me. He 
was more than thirty-eight years assistant minister and 
an annuity for life was granted him on his resignation. 
An extract from a sermon of Bishop De Lancey, quoted 
by Dr. Dorr, says of Dr. Abercrombie, who was asso- 
ciated with Bishop De Lancey in the care of the united 
churches : " Long admired for his unrivalled excellence 
as a reader of our admirable liturgy, for his ability as a 
writer and his eloquence as a preacher ; and exhibiting 
in his long continued, active and steady discharge of 
ministerial duty, an unbroken attachment to the cause of 
Christ and of His Church." 

In Rev. Dr. Sprague's valuable Annals of the Episco- 
pal Clergy there is a sketch of the life of this clergyman 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. I4I 

gathered from a paper by his son, Rev. Dr. R. M. Aber- 
crombie, and Bishop De Lancey's funeral sermon, and Dr. 
Dorr's History of Christ Church. We will condense it. 

James Abercrombie was born in Philadelphia, January 
2d, A.D., 1758. His father was named James, and was 
a native of Dundee, Scotland and a relative of Sir Ralph 
Abercrombie. I find in Boswell's Johnson a notice of 
some correspondence between a gentleman of this name 
and the literary Doctor.- Mr. Abercrombie was in the 
East India trade, and was also an officer in the navy of 
Great Britain. In 1753 he settled in this country, and 
in 1760 "was lost in the German Ocean." James was 
then two years old. He was an only child, and his pious 
and intelligent mother educated him with a hope that 
he might enter the ministry. Would that other mothers 
would follow her example. From childhood the lad 
had a leaning toward the clerical life, and on Sunday 
evenings he used to put a white apron on his shoulders 
to imitate a surplice, and endeavor to conduct a service. 

The boy studied at Dr. Gardiner's Academy, and at 
the College of Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1776. 
He studied theology under Bishop White. Trouble 
with his eyes, and the difficulty of going to England for 
ordination suspended the time of entering the sacred 
ministry. Mr. Abercrombie became a merchant, and a 
member of the Common Council, In 1793 Bishop 
White ordained him a deacon in St. Peter's Church, 
Philadelphia. In 1794 he became assistant minister in 
Christ Church and in St. Peter's, and was ordained priest. 
He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, 
and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the 
College of New Jersey. 

In 1806 Dr. Abercrombie officiated monthly at Trinity 
Church, Oxford, and All Saints', Lower Dublin, near 



142 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

Torresdale. This continued for three years, until 1810, 
when the charter of Christ Church and St. Peter's was 
made to include St. James's Church. With Rev. Dr. 
Samuel Magaw, once Rector of St. Paul's, Dr. Aber- 
crombie founded the Philadelphia Academy, and taught 
in it for several years. In 1832 he retired from his work 
at Christ Church and St. Peter's and St. James's. He 
lived in this city the rest of his life, with many friends 
about him. He died on the 26th of June, in 1841, aged 
eighty-three. In 1783 he married Anna Baynton, the 
daughter of a Philadelphia merchant. His wife died in 
1805. In 181 7 he was married to his second wife, Mary 
Jane Mason. 

Dr. Sprague remarks his own observation of Dr. 
Abercrombie's conversational power, and geniality, and 
love of antiquity, and his readiness to do him a favor. 

The Rev. Dr. Henry M. Mason, of Easton, Maryland, 
was a brother-in-law of Dr. Abercrombie. He described 
him as eloquent in reading the service, while his ser- 
mons were at times very effective. He was guileless, 
and claimed no merit, looking for salvation only to the 
"All Sufficient Sacrifice" of Christ. Before death, he 
declared that the thought of Christ had driven away 
every fear. 

David Paul Brown, Esq., describes the Doctor as 
slender, with a pallid countenance, and of an active 
disposition. He had many instructive anecdotes to re- 
late. - 

The Rev. Dr. John Coleman states that his ministry 
extended over half a century, and that in old-time 
manner he used to wear black silk gloves in officiating. 
As age advanced his solemnity and spirituality in- 
creased. The Bible and Ambrose Serle's devout 
'' Christian Remembrancer " were the two books which 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 143 

employed his mind. His funeral was attended by vast 
numbers of clergy and laity, at St. Peter's Church. 
Bishop Onderdonk performed the service. At the grave 
the sighs and tears of clergy and people indicated the 
love and honor which were given him. 

Bishop De Lancey notes that he properly regarded 
reading as ''dignified conversation," or ''talking from a 
book." He made the Scriptures lifelike and impressive. 
He had loved St. Peter's Church from childhood. In 
old age he was patient in illness, interested in the pros- 
pects of his children, and using "the means of grace," 
as he looked forward hopefully to "the life of glory." 
He was trustful and benevolent, and his useful ministry 
ran from Revolutionary days to another generation, so 
that he was an interesting link with the past. 

Bishop Kemper became assistant minister of the 
united parishes in 181 1. He served twenty years with 
success, and then became rector of St. Paul's Church, 
Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1835 he was consecrated 
as Missionary Bishop of Missouri and Indiana, being 
the first missionary bishop in this American Church. 
His zeal and devotion are still remembered. 

Jackson Kemper was a native of the State of New 
York, and was ordained by Bishop White. He was 
also consecrated by Bishop White, at St. Peter's Church, 
in this city. This was the last bishop consecrated by 
Bishop White. Various missionary j urisdictions became 
dioceses under the untiring labors of this devoted 
servant of Christ and his name is venerated throughout 
the West. As he once entered a railway car, he was 
pointed out by one passenger to another as the most 
generally beloved man in Wisconsin. In 1859 he became 
Bishop of Wisconsin. He ended his earthly toils in 
and entered the Paradise of God. He was buried 
9 



i:j.i879, 



144 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

at his beloved Nashotah Theological Seminary, where 
his tomb may serve as a stimulus to students in the West 
to imitate his noble example. 

When Iowa became a diocese the clergy and laity 
passed resolutions showing their deep appreciation 
of the fostering care of Bishop Kemper, under whom 
they had learned to walk alone. Bishop H. W. Lee 
was then elected, and well continued the work of his 
predecessor. The Hon. Isaac H. Kiersted, in an article 
on the diocese of Indiana, in The Church Cyclopaedia, 
states that it took two years for Bishop Kemper to make 
visitations which could now be performed in two months. 
For six months of the year the Indiana roads were 
"almost impassable." A mud wagon with four horses 
pulled the traveler through mire, and forded rivers, 
sometimes swollen. Bishop Kemper went through 
many dangers, but he had a strong constitution, and a 
cheerful disposition, and the hand of God was over him. 

Bishop G. W. Doane preached the sermon at the con- 
secration of Bishop Kemper and Bishops Doane and B. B 
Smith presented him. An article entitled " Recollect- 
ions of Bishop White" appeared in " The Missionary," 
published at Burlington, New Jersey, Nov. ii, A.D., 
1837, which describes the aged Bishop White as weeping 
while performing his last service in consecrating a 
bishop. Bishop Philander Chase assisted wearing his 
black skull-cap, and his feeling displayed itself in tearful 
emotion when reading the Gospel about feeding Christ's 
sheep, or St. Peter's asseveration that Christ knew that 
he loved Him. The hearty responses of the people 
showed their interest in the solemn service. The 
venerable Drs. Abercrombie and Milnor assisted in the 
service. Dr. Milnor had been brought up in the Society 
of Friends, and his presence is therefore notable. Bishop 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 1 45 

White, — "the Apostolic White," — with his hoary head as 
"a crown of glory" with tottering steps leaned on the 
venerable Bishop Moore, of Virginia, whose silvery 
locks flowed in graceful profusion down his shoulders. 
A half century before W^hite had been consecrated by 
the Metropolitan of Canterbury, and for nearly seventy 
years had, in "sound doctrine" and purity of life pro- 
claimed "the truth as it is in Jesus." Bishop White had 
consecrated Bishop Moore, and this whole scene, with 
its various characters, marks an era in the history of the 
x\merican Church. 

Before entering the General Theological Seminary, I 
had the pleasure of traveling a short distance in Wis- 
consin by railway and carriage with the aged Bishop 
Kemper. I asked him whether he did not get tired in 
his severe labors, to which he replied, " Do you get 
tired of doing your daily duty, Sir?" Those labors which 
moved the w^onder of the Church were to him merely 
natural acts of a dutiful child to his Heavenly Parent. 
I further questioned him with regard to any differences 
in opmion that might naturally exist among his clergy as 
to doctrine, and he replied in his genial way, " I do not 
allow my boys to quarrel," and the clergy were glad to 
be the "boys" of so loving a father. 

The bishop's simple red house, of wood, not far from 
Xashotah, was a contrast to the comforts of city life 
which he had known. The churchman who travels 
West should visit Nashotah where spiritual life flourishes 
among scenes of sylvan beauty. He would bring home 
a lasting impression as to the value of Western missions, 
and think more highly of Breck and Cole and Adams, 
and the younger Kemper. Religious men ought not to 
travel for mere amusement, and the new world has hoi}- 
shrines as well as the old one. A Bishop White Hal! 



146 ST. James's church. 

at Nashotah keeps up the memory of Philadelphia. 
Nashotah means twin in the Indian tongue, and twin 
lakes brighten the scene. Bishop Coxe sings : 

"But how it makes my heart of hearts upswell, 
To see our Enghsh ritual planted there, 

Where walks his round Nashotah's sentinel, 
And breaks its daily service on the air!" 

"And where at dawn the prairie-fox did bark, 
Are heard by night, sweet canticle and chant : ' 

Where sung before no choirist but the lark, 
Ring out the Church's anthems jubilant ! " 

I was informed that in the early days of Nashotah, a 
a wild animal once came and looked into the window 
of the cabin where a student dw^elt. 

The success of Bishop Kemper's work at St. James's 
Church may be seen in the fact, noted in the biography 
of Dr. Muhlenberg, that in 1813, on Easter Even, w^hen 
Muhlenberg w^as confirmed in that church, the class 
numbered one hundred and eighty-one, a thing before 
unknown in Philadelphia, and Bishop White expressed 
the gladness of his heart on this occasion in the sermon. 
I know that I express the feelings of both your rectors in 
saying that a similar class would give them great joy, 
but such ingatherings must follow the work of the people 
as well as of the pastor, and with the ardent spirit of a 
Kemper at work in every communicant here it might 
indeed appear at the day of Judgment that thousands 
had been born to glory in St. James's Church. The 
preaching of Bishop Kemper was very effective. He 
was zealous in Sunday-school work, which was begun 
in the parish in his day. 

Rev. Dr. James Milnor was assistant minister of the 
united churches from 1814 to 1816. The vestry parted 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 1 47 

j from him with regret when he became rector of St. 
George's Church, New York, and Dr. Dorr speaks of 
his dignity and his usefulness in his long rectorate in 
New York. In Dr. Dorr's history of the Sunday- 
schools, a meeting of Mr. Milnor's Bible Class is men- 
tioned, which was held at a school-room in Ranstead 
Court, between Race and Vine Streets, below Fifth 
Street, on Feb. 13th, A.D., 1816, to form a society for 
instructing poor children in religion on Sundays. Ladies 
from the various parishes attended the meeting. A 
Sunday-school was opened the next Sunday at Christ 
Church, and thus begun a blessed and Christ-like work in 
these parishes which has borne much fruit. After two 
Sundays the work was divided into three schools, one 
for each of the three churches. 

The Rev. Dr. John S. Stone prepared an extended 
Memoir of Dr. Milnor giving a full account of his early 
and later life, and of his spiritual experiences. Dr. 
Milnor is here represented as recording his interest in 
a letter received from Mr. Kemper, showing a lively 
desire for the reviving of the Church of Christ. The 
Doctor had been a lawyer, and was a member of 
Congress the time he received the letter. He was 
i ordained to the diaconate and priesthood by Bishop 
White in St. James's Church. The first sermon preached 
to his former associates was on the text, '' I am not 
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ," Rom. i: 16. His 
succeeding life showed that he carried out in action the 
spirit of the text. 

Dr. Milnor was honored on his visit to England, and 
I stood deservedly high in the estimation of his fellow- 
' countrymen. He was a beloved correspondent of 
Bishop Daniel Wilson, of Calcutta. He was a gener- 
ous, cheerful and sympathetic Christian, and the weeping 



148 ST. JAMES'S CHURCH. 

crowd of friends and parishioners which surrounded 
the rectory when his death was announced, and the 
throng which attended his funeral, and the notices of 
the public prints, and of religious bodies, after his death, 
evinced the exalted position which he had acquired. 
This honor came to him because he looked alone to 
Christ's cross for salvation, and in humility studied how 
to advance the glory of God, and the everlasting good 
of his fellow-men. Dr. Sprague gave a synopsis of Dr. 
Stone's Memoir, which sketch we will further abbreviate 
from his Annals. 

Dr. Milnor was born in Philadelphia, in 1773. His 
father was a friend of Washington, and interested in 
the success of the American cause. The son was edu- 
cated in the University of Pennsylvania, being noted 
for his sound judgment and kindly disposition. He did 
not graduate, but entered on the study of Law, and ob- 
tained a good practice in Norristown, but returned to 
Philadelphia, where he was successful. His faithful 
and beloved wife was Eleanor Pawling. Mr. Milnor 
was a member of the Select Council of Philadelphia, 
and for one year its President. When he determined 
to enter the sacred ministry, he acted as catechist and 
lay-reader in St. John's Church, Norristown, for a time. 
His first sermon was preached in St. Peter's Church, 
Philadelphia, on the day of his ordination. He aiter- 
ward became assistant minister in the united churches. 

In 1830 Dr. Milnor went to London as a delegate of ; 
the American Bible Society to the British and Foreign 
Bible Societies, representing also other religious insti- 
tutions. 

His last sermon was on the duty of charitably judging 
others, exemplifying his own character. After a meet- 
ing of the Directors of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 1 49 

at his study, he died with little warning, but breathing 
a prayer which showed that he was peacefully entering 
the Paradise of God. His son described the dying 
scene. The Doctor's wife was absent in company with 
a sick daughter who had traveled to a distance from 
home. Dr. Tyng preached the funeral sermon. The 
last sermon of Dr. Milnor was printed. 

Chancellor Walworth speaks of the '' delightful Fri- 
day evening services," which the Doctor held in his 
Sunday-schoolroom, and which were exceedingly useful 
in advancing spiritual life. The Doctor prayed extem- 
poraneously with great earnestness for the salvation of 
his people. He was a wise leader, and his preaching 
was Scriptural and winning, showing a solicitude for the 
saving of his hearers to the glory of God. He was 
conciliating in his intercourse with his parishioners and 
did not love controversy in general matters, and was 
wide-hearted in his regard for all Christian people. He 
ever kept his ministerial office in view, and showed evi- 
dently that he possessed the spirit of his Divine 
Master. 

Bishop Eastburn describes Dr. Milnor as abundant in 
labors, and powerful in his extended influence. The 
Bishop's elder clerical brother was a communicant at 
St. George's. He composed the Trinity Hymn, *'0 
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord," when only eighteen years old. 
Dr. Milnor was industrious and systematic, and his 
legal life had given him a knowledge of the world. His 
warm zeal soon raised St. George's to a prosperous 
position. On the Lord's Day the church was crowded 
with serious worshipers, and the "presence of God" 
seemed to animate the rector in the services, and especi- 
ally at the Holy Communion, when a throng of com- 
municants presented themselves to receive the broken 



150 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

body and shed blood of their common Lord and Saviour. 
Dr. Milnor was an effective parish minister, always at 
work, and going from house to house, delighting to per- 
form his duty. God blessed his labors and he reaped 
abundantly. Sin and its remedy in the sacrifice of the 
'' Lamb of God " were the themes of the preaching of this 
devoted ''man of God." He animated younger minis- 
ters in their preaching. He was a useful leader in 
religious societies, and once acted most effectually as 
the secretary and general agent for the Foreign Missions 
of the Episcopal Church. 

Bishop Eastburn paints the general sorrow which 
followed the death of so saintly a man. He was pleas- 
ant in intercourse, and his "ruddy countenance" evinced 
frankness and good humor. His conversation dis- 
played his charity. He was both firm and loving, and 
in mellowed age his affectionate disposition blessed 
those who approached him. His talents were used as a 
sacred trust, to be accounted for at the day of judgment. 
Bishop Eastburn, in closing the account, which I have 
synopsized, holds up the great man as a pattern to stir 
sluggishness, and inspire Christian love. The devoted 
man toiled to the end of life, as had been his wish and 
he has doubtless met many in Paradise who were his 
spiritual children here, and so the heavenly family is 
being filled with those who have finished the earthly 
conquest, and entered into the peace of God. God help 
us all to labor that we miay be found among them. 

The Rev. Dr. William A. Muhlenberg was assistant 
minister of the united churches from 181 7 to 1S20. Dr. 
Dorr says that he was very useful. I once met this 
good man when, with his " hoary head " as *' a crown 
of glory," he stood at the door of the noble St. Luke's 
Hospital in New York, which was a living monument 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 15 I 

of his love to his suffering fellow-men. It is a picture 
ever to be remembered. I have also seen him, as with 
gentle grace he instructed his flock at the Church of the 
Holy Communion. The world has seen few such men. 
His life, by Sister Anne Ayres, who was associated with 
him, as if a daughter, for over thirty 3"ears, reads like a 
romance. As she was a sharer in his good works, she 
tells a story to incite others to such action, which should 
be read by every member of these three parishes once 
served by him. I will briefly condense her narrative. 
Dr. Muhlenberg was descended from ''the blessed and 
venerable Henry Melchior Muhlenberg." This v/orthy 
clergyman and Doctor was the founder of the Lutherans 
in this country. 

William Augustus Muhlenberg was born in Phila- 
delphia, in 1796. He was reverent from a child, and 
always expected to be a clergyman. When not over 
eight years old he used to have church Sunday evenings 
and preach to the family in childish fashion, but thought- 
fully, he would also have an offering taken. He was 
always striving to improve. When nine years of age 
we see him, hand in hand with his sister of seven, going 
to Christ Church, and sitting in the gallery, and looking 
down on General Washington's pew, with its lining of 
red velvet. He dearly loved the organ. The ground 
for the first St. James's Church was bought of Mrs. 
Muhlenberg. A large pew was given to the widow, 
Mary Muhlenberg, and she became a parishioner in the 
new church to the delight of her children, who had only 
been permitted to attend Episcopal services when the 
Lutheran services of Dr. Me}^er had been in German. 
William was fond of the Church Ye^r, and his diary 
notes a most joyful Christmas at St. James's Church, 
and a sermon by Dr. Abercrombie, and a service b}- 



152 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

Bishop Kemper. He was a pupil of Dr. Abercrombie, 
at the Philadelphia Academy. He was loving to 
mother and sister. The preaching of Bishop Kemper 
had an effect on his mind, and he was confirmed under 
his care, being then a collegian of sixteen. He writes 
''religion is my delight." He graduated at the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania in 1815. Rev. Dr. Christian 
F. Cruse, afterward Librarian of the General Theolog- 
ical Seminary, took the first honor in the class. Dr. 
George B. Wood the second, and Muhlenberg the third. 
The future clergyman studied theology under Bishop 
White, and assisted Mr. Kemper in visiting the sick and 
poor. He was a Sunday-school teacher and leader in 
church music. He first officiated as lay-reader at Rad- 
nor Church, reading a sermon from Gisborne on the 
Love of God. Afterward he worked several weeks in 
Huntingdon County. He was a manager in an Auxiliary 
Bible Society, Bishop White was the president of the 
parent society, which was the first one in this country. 
Mr. Muhlenberg was ordained by Bishop White, with 
Richard M. Mason, in 181 7, and soon became assistant 
in this parish. He organized St. James's Sunday- 
school. 

In 1820 he became rector of St. James's Church, in 
Lancaster, where Bishop Kerfoot was a pupil in his 
Sunday-school. Dr. Muhlenberg pushed with energy 
the enlargement of the old hymnal, being a poet, a hymn- 
writer, and composer of music. It was his desire to 
found a school which would be a Christian home, and 
after a short rectorship at Flushing, Long Island, he 
entered enthusiastically on the work of founding the 
Flushing Institute and afterwards St. Paul's College 
arose on a beautiful site, not far distant. All his many 
plans were subject to God's will. He desired to educate 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 153 

those who should be clergymen. He elevated the 
boys mentally and spiritually. Rev. Professors Mahan, 
J. G. Barton and L. Van Bokkelen assisted in teaching. 
The Church Year was observed with great care and 
beauty. There were delightful chapel services daily, at 
morning, noon and evening. Newton May, M.D., and 
Rev. Dr. Robert S. Rowland were teachers at St. 
Paul's, which became a pattern to other church schools 
in this country. 

The beautiful Church of the Holy Communion was 
built by Dr. Muhlenberg's widowed sister, Mrs. Rogers, 
according to her husband's wish. The Doctor took 
charge of this free church, supported by the offerings, 
with its daily service and weekly Communion. The 
nucleus of the Sisterhood and Hospital grew up around 
it. The college educated many clergy. Bishops Bedell, 
Kerfoot and Odenheimer being among its pupils. The 
loving teacher now became again a loving parish min- 
ister. He was deferential to the poor, for they were 
stamped with God's image. St. Luke's Hospital arose 
from his observation of the needs of the sick poor. 
The fresh air excursions originated with him. His wise 
and earnest efforts for church unity must not be forgot- 
ten, as seen in the Memorial Papers. 

St. Luke's Hospital was one of the greatest works of 
Dr. Muhlenberg. Bishop Wainwright laid its corner- 
stone in 1854, A central chapel communicates with 
the wards that Christian comfort may reach the sick 
bed. The biographer says that the open door of the 
hospital seems to welcome the sufferer in the words of 
Christ: ** Come unto me, all ye that are weary and 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Late at night 
and early in the morning, Dr. Muhlenberg, who made 
his home in the hospital, was comforting suffering souls 



154 ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 

in his room or in the wards. He called the place 
Lazarus's Palace. He was very trustful to others be- 
cause innocent himself. In this abode many pious souls 
found peace. Dr. Muhlenberg's bosom friend, Dr. 
Cruse, ended his days with him. 

Dr. Muhlenberg had many dreams of ways to aid 
humanity, and many of them became realities. St. 
Johnland, the Christian village on the beautiful waters 
of the sound, has given a respectable home to many a 
toiler, helping him to help himself. Why should there 
not be a St. Johnland near Philadelphia ? 

This saintly man bore fruit in his old age, and was 
satisfied with a "long life," seeing'* the salvation of 
God." He worked bravely and cheerfully to the end, 
dying on a Sunday, in his hospital home at St. Luke's, 
in 1877. He was buried at St. Johnland, amid the bless- 
ings of those whom he had aided, and offerings of rich 
and poor, down to the value of pennies, combined to 
rear him a monument. There was a spontaneous tribute 
of love from the religious world at his death. 

Dr. Muhlenberg taught the rich the luxury of doing 
good, as a venerable and generous lady once gladly 
acknowledged. His holy and self-denying life stimulated 
others, and laymenf, like Minturn, Wolfe and Bonnie, 
were ready to follow such a leader. The sympathy of 
this man was world-wide. He Vv^as a spiritual Father in 
school, church and hospital. He was unselfish, and his 
faith was heroic, and the mountain became *'a plain" 
before it. With a few dollars in hand he could believe 
that St. Luke's Hospital would arise, and now hundreds 
of thousands have been given to it. Our blessed Lord 
said, ''All things are possible to him that believeth." He 
was energetic, and his work was personal, and long con- 
tinued, while he sustained his helpers by his sunny 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 1 55 

disposition. In his old age he sympathetically arranged 
the Old Man's Home at St. Johnland. Humility and 
thankfulness, and trustful prayer, and gentle consider- 
ation were characteristics of this saint, who kept a young 
heart in old age : for he was renewing his youth by 
waiting on the Lord, and his soul flew upward as an 
eagle. His closing days were filled with prayer and 
praise, and passed in submission to the holy will of God. 
When he composed the tune ''St. Bernard" for ''Jesus, 
the Very Thought of Thee," he designated one whose 
character was like his own. When Mr. Minturn was 
buried Dr. Muhlenberg announced as the text of his 
funeral sermon the passage in Micah, about doing justly, 
and loving mercy, and w^alking humbly with God, 
simply adding as the sermon, "So did he." Such a 
sermon might have fitly attended the funeral of the 
preacher himself 

The immense impulse which Dr. Muhlenberg gave to 
church life and charity in this country, and to beautiful 
and attractive worship is yet felt. This lasting work 
was due to the sublime faith of the man who died poor, 
because he had sought the good of others. If a poor 
man becomes a millionaire by repeated steps of business 
faith, a Christian may accomplish untold wonders by 
making himself God's instrument and following where 
he leads, though the way may at times be dark. 

Two striking contrasts present themselves. Of the 
two little children we saw in the gallery of Christ Church, 
one builds a church, where the other shall lead many in 
the divine life. The lad who was confirmed under the 
pastoral care of Bishop Kemper, in after years rejoices 
to further in his New York Church the founding of a 
new church of the Holy Communion in Wisconsin, and 
to receive the Holv Communion and the Benediction 



156 ST. James's church. 

from him whom he well styles ''the Father of Missions 
in our church." 

Bishop De Lancey's work in this parish was men- 
tioned in a sermon lately delivered at St. Peter's Church. 
There are oil paintings of Bishops White and De Lancey 
in the vestry-room of St. James's Church, and one of 
Dr. Morton, once owned by Thomas Pratt, which wasi 
painted by Roberts, in Paris. 

The scholarly historiographer of the American : 
Church, Rev. Dr. Francis L. Hawks, who was a fine reader \ 
and a striking preacher, and long the rector of Calvary 
Church, New York, was for eighteen months the 
assi-stant of Bishop White and preceded Dr. Morton. ij 

A sketch of Rev. Dr. Henry J. Morton appeared in 11 
''The Church" in 1S87. He is a native of New York, 
being the son of Major-general Jacob Morton. He 
graduated at Columbia College with honor, afterward 
studying law with his brother, Washington J. Morton. 
His artistic skill and taste are well known. He is a 
graduate of the General Theological Seminary and was 
ordained by Bishop Hpbart. In 1830 he became Assist- 
ant Minister in St. James's Church, and the next year 
was ordained priest by Bishop White. He served the 
Bishop in the assistantship five years. Bishop White 
died in 1 836, and Dr. Morton was elected rector, assuming 
charge in 1837. He was long President of the Standing; 
Committee of the diocese. He has been connected with 
various public societies. The University of Pennsyl- 
vania honored him with a Doctorate in Divinity. In 
1886 he became Rector Emeritus of this church, having 
served the parish over a half-century. He has followed 
the rule of the Church and the guiding of the Word of 
God, and receives due honor among those whom he ; 
has instructed in divine things. I quote the closing 



i 



■■■■'/ 



y^ 







REV. DR. H. J. MORTON. 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 157 

paragraph of the article : '* His long- life has been both 
beautiful and blessed. It has been eminent for the grace 
of gentleness, for charity, for brotherly love, for love of 
children, and sympathy for sorrow of every kind, for 
'whatsoever things are of good report' " Let me add, 
may this life be long prolonged to the benefit of this 
church. 

It is a pleasant fact that the architect of the new 
church, Emlen T. Littell, was a son of the church, and 
did good work in the construction of a spiritual home 
for its shelter. 

•Your present rector, Dr. Nichols, came to you from 
grand old Christ Church, Hartford, where it was my 
privilege to worship as a student of Trinity College. 
Bishops Philander Chase, Wainwright, George Burgess, 
Brownell, Williams, Clark and Drs. T. W. Coit and 
Wheaton had served that church, and a son of Dr. Aber- 
crombie was once its rector. Your rector has declined 
the Episcopate to remain among you, and may his future 
work be most successful. Connecticut took Bishop 
Kemper from this parish and in due time returned 

; Dr. Nichols to it. (Since the above was written Dr. 
Nichols has accepted the post of assistant bishop of 

'California.) 

The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society was 
inaugurated in St. James's Church vestry-room, on the 
third Wednesday in November, being the 21st, A. D., 1821, 
Bishop White presiding. See Bishop Perry's History 
of the American Church, Vol. 2, page 242. 

The prayers and toils of your rectors were undergone 
that their people might become temples " of the Holy 

ilGhost," and, in this momentary life, prepare, through 
Christ's aid, for the millions of years of eternity. Then 

Jstrive to get benefit from your church. With proper 



158 



ST. JAMES S CHURCH. 



interest its daily services should be thronged, and 
crowds should seek its blessed sacraments. In the 
busy whirl of pleasure, and the mad rush of business, 
stop at times, and enter this sacred enclosure to breathe 
heavenly air, and feed on angelic manna, and listen 
to strains of heavenly music, thus getting a fore-taste • 
of heaven, in this beautiful temple; and then widen 
your thoughts, and hand on these blessings to the 
distant Western settler, or the Indian, or the dweller in 
Africa, China and Japan; and having ''freely" received 
Christ's religion, ''freely give" it; and then will you 
exemplify the teachings of the bishops and clergy who 
have in this parish proclaimed the Word of God for 
generations, and this church v/ill indeed be a praise and 
a joy in the earth. 




BISHOP NICHOLS. 
(By permission of TJte Churckman.) 



ST. PAUL S CHURCH. 1 59 



S' 



CHAPTER XIV. 

St. Paul's Church. 

" Paul preached unto them." — Acfs 20: 7. 

T. PAUL has been preaching in all the churches 
named in his honor for centuries. In considering 
'' V^ the lives of the rectors of this church, we see the 
effects of his preaching. 

Dr. Tyng's sermon at the consecration of this reno- 
vated church, January ist, A.D., 183 1, and Bishop 
Perry's Reports of the Propagation Society give much 
valuable information about this ancient parish. 

The Rev. William McClenachan was the first rector. 
He had been a Presbyterian minister, but offered him- 
self to the Church of England, and was recommended 
to the ''Kennebeque Mission" by Mr. Shirley, ''on 
account of his robust constitution." He was ordained 
in A.D., 1755, in London, He practiced as a physician 
in Halifax and Boston for a time, but afterward went to 
his mission where he remained two years and a half. 
He traveled long distances in performing his sacred 
duties, and he and his large family were in danger in 
(the French and Indian war. He lived in a dismantled 
fort called Fort Richmond. There were no soldiers or 
ammunition there at this time. The mission included 
peorgetown and Frankfort. This was a part of 
(the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The missionary 
jdeclared that he was nearly worn out with fatigue in his 
(labors in the wilderness, where the prosperous town of 



i6o ST. Paul's church. 

Gardiner now stands. He accepted a post in Virginia, 
but soon settled in Philadelphia and became second 
assistant at Christ Church, Rev. William Sturgeon being 
first assistant, and the rector, Dr. Jenney, being in feeble 
health. He held this post about a year, and drew 
crowds to the church, as his preaching was striking and 
powerful. He afterwards organized St. Paul's Church, 
mostly composed of members withdrawing from Christ 
Church. There was much friction in the formation of 
the new parish, as may be seen by a reference to the 
life of Rev. Dr. William Smith, by Horace Wemyss 
Smith. The Protestant Episcopal Historical Society 
Collections, and Sewell's History of Bath, Maine, and 
Webster's History of Prebyterianism, and other works 
noted by Bishop Perry give some account of Mr. McClen- 
aghan or McClenachan. ^ 

In 1760 the new congregation met at the State House,, 
where four or five thousand persons assembled, and 
w^here, for a time, services were held. John Ross, a 
distinguished lawyer, was a leader in this movement, 
and the first warden. The new church was opened the 
Sunday before Christmas, in 1761. The rector was a 
popular preacher, though not always prudent; as he 
was of an impetuous disposition. The people were 
interested and affectionate. The rector preached thrice^: 
on the Lord's day in this prosperous church, and the 
building is described as the largest church in this city 
or province. Over a thousand sittings were taken in it. 
The rector's health failed in his zealous work and an 
assistant was needed, but one v/as not secured from 
England, and in 1765 the rector resigned in infirm 
health and went to the eastern shore of Maryland, 
where Dr. Tyng says, ''AH accounts agree in testifying, 
that he was regular and exemplary in his conduct, and 



ii 




ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, 



'1 



ST. Paul's church. i6i 

where, after a few years, he died, much lamented by his 
parishioners in general." 

Mr. McClenachan was from the north of Ireland, and 
had the Irish gift of eloquence. Dr. Newton says, ''He 
was an earnest and devoted Christian, and one of the 
most eloquent, successful and popular ministers of that 
day," 

Dr. Newton's sermon on the Centennial Anniversary 
of St. Paul's, entitled *' God Shining out of Zion," notes 
that Rev. William Romaine, the distinguished author 
of "The Life, and Walk, and Triumph of Faith," was 
now called to the rectorship. Whitefield who had 
preached in St. Paul's, recommended him. He had 
just settled at St. Ann's, Blackfriar's, London, and did 
not think proper to resign that parish so soon after 
settling in it. 

The Rev. Hugh Neill, missionary at Oxford and 
Whitemarsh, assisted the vacant parish somewhat by 
gratuitous services, and they presented him with "a 
very handsome piece of plate " as a testimonial. In 
1767 Mr. Neill writes that the people of St. Paul's had 
built "a church and endowed it with a handsome 
revenue." 

The next rector was the Rev. William Stringer, who 
was introduced by a letter from Whitefield. He was ac- 
ceptable to the people, and zealous in endeavors to pro- 
mote the glory of God, as the vestry testify to the Bishop 
of London. His Christian life drew the affection of the 
congregation. The clergy respected him, and after 
having served the parish some time he went to England 
for ordination, with testimonials for Bishop Terrick, and 
was ordained. In 1773 he was elected rector, the clergy 
of Christ Church and St. Peter's having kindly taken 
\ his services during his absence. Bishop White was one 



1 62 ' ST. Paul's church. 

who had assisted in Mr. Stringer's absence. Mr. 
Stringer was humble and unassuming, but in the 
troubles of the Revolution in 1777, when the British 
army were in Philadelphia, through a misunderstanding, 
his resignation occurred. The next year he returned 
to his native England and entered on clerical work, and 
when Bishop White was consecrated in London, in 
1787, he visited London to see him and inquire about 
his Philadelphia friends, who had been attached to 
him. 

Dr. Smith writes, *' Mr. Stringer seems a peaceable 
good man." He was said to preach " in the way of 
Romaine." He was useful, and said he was '^willing 
to be employed wherever he can serve the cause of re- 
ligion." Dr. Peters mentions his quiet goodness, say- 
ing, "he gives constant attendance to his duty which 
he punctually performs according to the Rites and Cer- 
emonies of our Church," preaching on holy days, and 
lecturing '' once a week in the evening." He was com- 
mendably diligent, and paid no regard to worldly in- 
terest, or the amount of remuneration from the congre- 
gation ; he was universally esteemed. People of all 
''persuasions expressed a value for him and thought the 
city much favored by having so quiet and innocent a 
man at the head of St. Paul's Church." 

In 1783 Rev. Dr. Samuel Magaw became the rector 
of St. Paul's. For five years he had sole charge of this 
parish, and then Rev. Dr. Joseph Pilmore was made 
assistant minister. I gave an extended account of Dr. 
Magaw in the Standard of the Cross and the Church of 
Feb. 4th, 1888, and will note but a few points here re- 
garding him. It is believed that he w^as born in i735> 
and that he went to England for ordination. He died 
in 1 81 2. He was active in this diocese, and in the 



i 




REV. DR. JOSEPH PILMORE. 



ST. Paul's church. 163 

church at large. He is buried under this church, near 
Dr. Pilmore. He was Vice-Provost of the University 
of Pennsylvania and stood high among the clergy of 
his day. Before coming to St. Paul's, Dr. Magaw was 
rector in Dover, Delaware, where he succeeded Bishop 
Inghs, of Nova Scotia. In 1804 Dr. Magaw resigned 
his rectorship of St. Paul's by reason of infirm health. 
His last days were passed in pain and disease. His 
wife was a daughter of Andrew Doz, a great benefactor 
of the church work in Philadelphia by legacies. This 
devoted Christian lady died before her husband. Dr. 
Magaw lived several years after his resignation, and was 
aided by the church, living in a house on York Street, 
which belonged to St. Paul's parish. At length his 
labors were over and he entered into the peace of God. 
Among his printed sermons is one on the death of Mary, 
the excellent wife of Bishop White, preached in Christ 
and St. Peter's Churches in 1797. 

Rev. Dr. Pilmore was the next rector of St. Paul's 
Church. I gave an extended account of him in the 
Standard of the Cross and the Church, of March i6tli, 
1889, but will here condense Rev. Dr. Sprague's Annals, 
in which he acknowledges the aid of Rev. Richard D. 
Hall and Rev. Dr. B. T. Welch, simply adding that 
Rev. Dr. Milnor speaks of the effect of Dr. Pilmore's 
preaching on him, as is noted in Dr. Stone's Life of that 
good man. 

The Rev. Mr. Hall writes of him as his spritual father, 
and the guide of his youth. Mr. Hall was a member of 
St. Paul's parish, and his father was a vestryman in it. 

Dr. Pilmore was born in 1 734, in Tadmouth, Yorkshire, 
England. His father and mother were Church of 
England people. When about sixteen, the lad formed 
the acquaintance of Rev. John Wesley, who was 



164 ST. Paul's church. 

preaching through Great Britain, and was drawn into 
the path of piety by him, under God's providence. 
Mr. Wesley took him into his noted school at Kingswood, 
where the sons of preachers were taught. Among other 
things he studied Hebrew, and Wesley had composed 
a Hebrew Grammar, and Dr. Pilmore gave Mr. Hall a 
copy of it, and of a Hebrew Bible; and Mr. W^esley's 
autograph added to the value of the gift. Dr. Pilmore 
was fond of study. He became one of Mr. Wesley's 
itineraats, or lay-preachers, ''helpers in the work of 
calling sinners to repentance," as the Doctor himself used 
to express it in after years. He worked successfully in 
this vocation a number of years in England and Scotland, 
Ireland and Wales. He was a friend of Lady 
Huntingdon, the patroness of Whitefield, and also 
enjoyed the friendship of Lady Maxwell. 

The appearance and manner of the young lay-helper 
were impressive. He was tall and manly ; his manner 
was pleasant, and his spmpathy strong, and the earnest- 
ness of his prayers increased the interest in his work. 
His melodious voice, and effective gestures, and his 
strong concern for the salvation of those who heard hirn, 
and his simple statement of the Gospel gave him great 
power as a preacher. 

In 1769, when thirty-four years old, Mr. Pilmore 
offered himself to Wesley as a missionary to America. 
He came, and delivered the Gospel message from Maine 
to Georgia, at a time when travel was difficult. The 
whole of the thirteen colonies were traversed, with 
danger to life and limb, in the rude travel of those early 
days. Persecutors added to the danger. At Charleston, 
S. C., while preaching in the theatre, by a contrivance 
of his enemies, a trap-door fell beneath him ; and table, 
Bible, Hymn-book, and preacher vanished, but the 



J 



ST. Paul's church, 165 

undaunted man went into the yard, declaring that by God's 
grace he would overcome the Devil, and not be beaten 
by him ; the sermon was finished peacefully. In military 
battles the English have the reputation of not knowing 
when they are whipped, and in a higher warfare this 
sturdy follower of Christ was a victor. The effect of this 
action appeared for years after in a drawing of souls to 
God. Crowds attended to hear this noble man deliver his 
Master's message. In after years, persons often declared 
to him that he had started them in a religious life in his 
itineracy, 

Mr. Pilmore had always loved and venerated his 
Mother, the Church of England, and in 1785 he applied 
to Bishop Seabury for ordination. The bishop had 
heard a good report of him, and was glad to ordain him. 
He was ordained deacon on the 27th of November, and 
priest on the 29th. He was soon called to Trinity 
Church, Oxford, All Saints', Lower Dublin, and St. 
Thomas's Whitemarsh, near Philadelphia. He resided 
near Poole's Bridge, '' in the upper part of Second Street." 
He was not married, but he married a hundred couples 
every year. In addition to his country work, he assist- 
ed Dr. Magaw, at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, 
preaching Sunday evenings to crowds, many of whom 
were hopefully brought to a knowledge of the truth. 

About 1790 he married Mrs. Wood. His ministry in 
the Yellow Fever times of 1 793 was very useful. In 1 794 
he became rector of Christ Church, New York, which 
was a new church. He labored here for ten years with 
success; and then was elected rector of St. Paul's, 
Philadelphia. In 1821 Rev. Benjamin Allen became 
his assistant. Dr. Pilmore died in 1825, being ninety- 
one years old. 

While rector of St. Paul's, Dr. Pilmore revisited 
Charleston and found that his religious work prior to 



1 66 ST. Paul's church. 

the Revolution was still bearing fruit there. How much 
good the clergy accomplish which the/ will never know 
until the Day of Judgment. Had this evangelist failed 
to make this visit, he might never have known on earth 
of the ripening sheaves. The Doctor worked effectively 
in the churches near Philadelphia, and God blessed his 
earnest labors greatly. Annually, on Easter Tuesday, 
he visited the Lazaretto and preached in the ample 
upper-room of the Custom House building and the 
visit blessed the neighborhood. The administration of 
the Holy Communion and the Holy-Day services in 
St. Paul's Church were times when the Lord refreshed 
his people abundantly by showing his presence and 
manifesting his love in pardoning sin-sick souls. The 
rector was filled with life and energy on the festivals of 
the church. He called Whitsunday ''Holy Ghost Day," 
and souls were then gathered to Christ, while devout 
hearts were full of " the joy of the Spirit." The penitent 
received comfort, the sinners were " awakened and con- 
verted ; and great good, as in primitive days, was done 
in the name of the ascended Saviour." There were 
about seven hundred communicants, "knit together in the 
fellowship and filled with the fruits of the Spirit." The 
Doctor's social meetings for prayer in different parts of 
Philadelphia were remarkably useful and brought a 
blessing to many souls. Many young men of St. Paul's 
Church, through the rector's efforts and moved by 
the grace of God, were called into the sacred ministry 
of the Church and most, or all of them, have entered on 
their reward in Paradise. As Mr. Hall closes the beau- 
tiful account of his friend and rector, which I have here 
followed, he expresses the hope of joining his ''departed 
spiritual father and brethren of St. Paul's with whom I 
hn^ve taken sweet counsel, and walked to the house of 



ST. Paul's church. 167 

God in company, — in celebrating, in nobler strains than 
we ever knew on earth, the praises of Him who loved 
us and gave Himself for us." That hope was accom- 
plished many years ago and that faithful servant of God 
has rested from his labors and joined his brethren above. 

The Rev. Dr. B. T. Welch writes to the Rev. Dr. 
Sprague, that Dr. Pilmore was a remarkable man, who 
left an ineffaceable impression on his mind. His bearing 
was noble and dignified. His countenance was intel- 
lectual and benignant and his appearance prepossessing. 
His preaching was fervent and simple. He always kept 
near the Cross, delineating the work and character of 
Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit and religion in 
its experience. He would begin to read his sermon 
deliberately, without much animation, but would grow 
warm and his eyes w^ould kindle, ''and the muscles of his 
face move and expand, until at length his soul would be 
all on fire, and he would be rushing onward extempor- 
aneously almost with the fury of a cataract, and the 
only use he would make of his manuscript in such cases 
would be to roll it up in his hand and literally shake it 
at his audience. When he w^as in these excited moods, 
his gesture was abundant ; but at other times — I mean 
when he w^as reading from his manuscript — I think he 
gestured very little." His voice was sonorous. He 
enunciated distinctly. He was at times exceedingly 
eloquent, but a divine unction gave his preaching its 
great power. His zeal was burning, and his devotion 
to Christ intense. Dr. Welch closes thus: "I sat 
under his ministry with great delight, and even at this 
late period, he rises before me as one of the most ven- 
lerable men whom I have ever seen in the pulpit." 

Would to God that many such powerful preachers 
Imight arise to stir the careless and comfort the faithful. 



1 68 ST. Paul's church. 

The successor of Dr. Pilmore was Rev. Benjamin 
Allen, whose life I abbreviate from Sprague's " Annals," 
which acknowledges the Memoir by Rev. Thomas G. 
Allen, the brother of the rector, as the source of infor- 
mation. The volume written by this good man is quite 
a lengthy and full narrative of the life and death of a 
saintly clergyman. 

Benjamin Allen was born in Hudson, N. Y., in 1789. 
The lad became a clerk in a store, but literature beckoned 
him away from merchandise and at seventeen he was con- 
tributing to a newspaper called TJie Balance, edited by 
Harry Croswell, who afterward was Rev. Dr. Croswell. 
The young student entered the Hudson Academy, 
under Ashbel Strong, and also issued a volume of 
poems, which had a second edition. He brought out 
an edition of Doddridge's '* Rise and Progress of 
Religion in the Soul," and was the means of putting 
thousands of copies in circulation. In 181 2 Mr. Allen 
married Harriet Swift. The theological studies and 
other labors of Mr. Allen, when in New York, led to 
the necessity of a vacation, which he utilized in pro- 
curing subscribers to ** Scott's Family Bible." He put 
forth various poems of his own composition. He had 
been a Presbyterian, but seems to have been somewhat 
influenced toward Episcopacy by an interview with 
Bishop Moore, of Virginia. That saintly man pressed 
on him the need of spiritual laborers in his Diocese. 
Mr. Allen entered the Church and went to Virginia 
as a lay-reader, being settled at Charlestown, Jef- 
ferson County, where he preached faithfully to the 
colored people with good effect. He had charge of 
seven congregations, and five churches needed building ^ 
or repairing. Sheperdtown was in his care; and he 
preached widely through the country. God blessed his 



ST. Paul's church. 169 

work with a revival, in w^hich it is thought that one hun- 
dred were draw^n to Christ. He was ordained deacon 
by Bishop Moore, in 1816, and priest in 1818. In 182 1 
he became rector of St. Paul's, Philadelphia, succeeding 
Dr. Pilmore. He gave attention to Sunday-schools and 
Bible Classes, and to the colored people. He issued a 
volume of sermons on '' Jesus Christ and Him Cruci- 
fied," as well as other v/orks. Even in travel, this 
spiritually-minded man appears to have had the kingdom 
of Christ ever in mind. In 1827 he entertained Bishop 
Chase, of Ohio, and gave valuable assistance in further- 
ing his noble Christian work in the West. Mr. Allen 
opened a book establishment that the Prayer-book 
might be sold cheaply, and other religious books be 
circulated. His labor affected his health, and in 1828 he 
went to England as the representative of several benevo- 
lentinstitutions at the May anniversaries. His zeal for his 
Master at the anniversaries prompted labor beyond the 
strength of an invalid. He made a visitation in the 
country for "The British and Foreign Bible Society," 
and overtasked himself and was prostrated. After some 
months of waiting and medical treatment he sailed 
homeward ; but the disease ran faster than the voyage, 
and death approached. He asked that the 15th chapter 
of First Corinthians should be read to him. The night 
before death the Scriptures w^ere read almost constantly 
at his request. He expressed to the captain a readiness 
for death, which was his last intelligible speech. He 
died as if sleeping. He was buried at sea. His rela- 
tives and parishioners and the whole community 
mourned his loss. Mr. Allen died in 1829. 

Bishop Smith was the successor of Benjamin Allen at 
Charlestown, and felt abashed when he found the repu- 
tation of his predecessor, w^hom he did not know. He 



lyo ST. PAULS CHURCH. 

was presented to his mind as a tireless rider on his gray 
horse, with saddle-bags loaded with Prayer-books, 
Sunday-school books and tracts scattered widely through 
the country, as the bearer preached "the everlasting 
Gospel," earnestly striving to be free from the 
blood of souls. The bishop describes him as tall and 
slender, but muscular, with a pleasant countenance. He 
was generally calm and dignified, though at times his 
restless spirit would assert itself He was energetic 
with pen, or in pulpit, or in the open air, doing more in 
a day than most persons would in a week. His mind 
was active and retentive. He knew how to apply his 
knowledge. He was generous and good, and in Sunday- 
school or service on Sunday, and in lecture and Bible 
Class his glow set others aflame. Apathy, indifference 
and stagnation fled before him. A permanent fervor 
was enkindled by him, as feeling the soul's worth, and 
Christ's love led him to feel ''the privilege of living, 
doing, giving, suffering and dying for Christ and His 
church." This thought tinctured his life. He was 
sincere and full of feeling in his work and God blessed 
his deed. The death at sea, and the waiting family are 
sad pictures, but when the sea gives up its dead there 
will be a brighter one. 

In 1829 Rev. Dr. Stephen Higginson Tyng accepted 
the rectorship of St. Paul's Church. He was born in 
Newburyport, Massachusetts, A.D., 1800, and died in 
Irvington, New York, on the banks of the beautiful 
Hudson River, in 1883. Dr. Tyng graduated at Harvard 
College, in Cambridge, Mass., in 181 7, and studied 
theology under the devoted Bishop Griswold, in Bristol, 
Rhode Island, and doubtless imbibed much of his 
spirit, and learned his methods of work. Bishop Gris- 
wold ordained him in 182 1. His first rectorate was in 



a 



ST. PAUL S CHURCH. 171 

Georgetown, D. C, he was next in Queen Anne parish, 
in Maryland, whence he came to this church, which he 
left in 1833 to take charge of the Church of the Epiphany 
in this city, and in 1845 he removed to New York, and 
was rector of the old St. George's in Beekman Street, 
and the new St. George's in Stuyvesant Square, in 
active work until 1878, when he became Rector Emeritus, 
having well earned this honor. 

Dr. Tyng was eloquent and energetic in organizing 
societies, and effective in platform speaking, and a 
forcible writer. He published a great deal, and was a 
powerful instrument of good in the Christian Church in 
two large cities in his day. I have given a sketch of his 
character and a notice of his earnest parish and Sunday- 
school work in the Standard of the Cross and the 
Chiircli, of December 15th, 1888. 

In 1834 Rev. Samuel Allen McCoskry succeeded Dr. 
Tyng in the rectorship of St. Paul's. He was born in 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1804, He was a cadet at 
West Point, .and a student in Dickinson College, and 
became a lawyer at Carlisle. He was ordained by 
Bishop Onderdonk, and became rector of Reading, 
Pennsylvania, and then this tall and fine appearing 
young clergyman was called to the rectorship of St. 
Paul's. He was consecrated Bishop of Michigan by 
Bishops Onderdonk, G. W. Doane and Kemper in 1836, 
Bishop White was too ill to officiate and died a few 
days afterward. The consecration was delayed from 
the 5th of July to the 7th in the hope that Bishop 
White might be present, but an accident disabled him 
from action. The Protestant Episcopalian, of August, 
1836, states that the aged bishop had not been absent 
from such consecrations for half a century, during which 
time he had seen the church rise from danger and 



172 ST. PAULS CHURCH. 

difficulty, while now Michigan was to receive its bishop. 
The Episcopal Recorder, quoted by the paper mentioned, 
says that Rev. Drs. Ducachet and Suddards presented 
the candidate for the Episcopate, and Rev. Drs. Clemson 
and Suddards read prayers. Bishop McCoskry died on 
the ist of August, A.D., t886. 

In 1836 that godly man, the Rev. Dr. James May, 
accepted the rectorship of St. Paul's Church. He 
resigned the charge by reason of poor health in 1840. 
The Rev. Mr. Bents had received an election before 
that of Dr. May. The Rev. Dr. Shiras wrote a beauti- 
ful memoir of his friend Dr. May which will here guide 
us. It is naturally dedicated to his students, and is 
intended to perpetuate the memory of a holy and 
gracious Christian life. 

The mother of James May was a member of the Potts 
family, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and a faithful Chris- 
tian woman. The father was an ironmaster, in Cov- 
entry, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, of high char- 
acter. The home was in French Creek Valley, and was 
a delightful country abode, amidst beautiful scenery. 
Here James was born in 1805. His father died in his 
early boyhood, and, a few years after, the mother was 
laid by her husband in the graveyard on the estate. 
James had the advantages of school life, and was aided 
by his brother Thomas, a student for holy orders, in 
studying Latin. The brother became rector of White- 
marsh and Norristown, but died early. James May 
graduated at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he had studied with his relative, the son of 
Governor Stevens of Maryland. The excellent Dr. 
Matthew Brown was president of the college. In college, 
May had felt the quickening of religious life, and he, 
after leaving that seat of learning, was called of God to 



ST. PAUL S CHURCH. I 73 

enter the ministry, and became a student at the Alex- 
andria Theological Seminary in Virginia, which had 
been started under the auspices of Bishops Moore and 
Meade, and where Professors Reul Keith and E. R. 
Lippitt were faithfully training up the future clergy. 
The young student, who had distinguished himself in 
college, gave himself prayerfully to his new and sacred 
work. He afterward studied under Rev. Dr. Boyd, in 
Philadelphia, and was ordained deacon by Bishop White, 
in Christ Church, in this city, in 1826. He preached his 
first sermon in St. John's Church, and his second 
sermon at St. Paul's. He became rector of St. Stephen's, 
Wilkesbarre, when only a little over twenty-one years 
old. Dr. Stone describes his ''fresh complexion and 
dark hair" at this stage of his life. He had a peaceful 
and benevolent spirit, and was an earnest and faithful 
preacher of salvation through Christ as given in the 
Gospel. With his country stations he held four services 
on Sundays, and one every day in the week, and did 
great good. He preached in school-houses, and once 
used a barn for a time. His delight in these simple 
services was great, and the Divine Master, who could 
give the sermon on the hillside, blessed them. 

Dr. May had a faithful helpmeet in his sweet wife, 
who was a sister of Bishop Bowman, her piety was of 
that sunshiny cast which lightens all who draw near it. 
It was a sad day when Dr. May was forced to leave his 
much-loved flock for city work, but duty called him to 
St. Paul's, while his attached people could hardly loose 
their grasp upon him. The work at Wilkesbarre had 
been highly successful and wondrously blessed of God 
in the ingathering of sheaves for the heavenly garner. 
!The good man found an appreciative congregation at 
St. Paul's, where he faithfully toiled until ill health 



174 ST. PAUL S CHURCH. 

forced him to travel abroad. The people still tried to 
retain him in the rectorship, but he found it needful to 
resign. On his return from Europe, he was made a 
professor in the Alexandria Theological Seminary, where 
he dwelt among delightful Christian society, including 
Rev. Geo. A. Smith of the Female Seminary, and Rev. 
Dr. W. N. Pendleton of the Virginia High School. The 
students found a home in his house ; and those who were 
going forth to missionary work from that " School of the 
Prophets," or those who returned to visit this country, 
were ever sure of the sympathy and hospitality of Dr. 
May and his wife. The Doctor wrote beautiful and 
spiritual letters to the absent, and gave welcome enter- 
tainment to the present, including the noble Bishop 
Payne and the Grebo brother named G. T. Bedell. 
Bishop Payne's statements in church on one occasion 
moved the tears of the clergy. The consecration of 
Bishop Payne, of Africa, at Alexandria, by Bishops 
Meade, Johns, Eastburn and Alfred Lee ; when Drs. 
Bull and Tyng read the service was a most interesting 
occasion. The visits of the foreign missionaries Rambo, 
Bishop Boone, Mr. and Mrs. Hening and the candidates 
for mission work abroad, Robert Smith and William 
Wright, and Rev. Mr. Callaway, of Kansas, give a fine 
picture of missionary interest in the biography. Nearly 
all have now entered on their reward. Those who have 
entered Dr. May's hospitable mansion, on that beau- 
tiful Virginia hillside, know what Christian hospitality 
means. 

Dr. May was fond of country life, and when he 
became a professor in the Divinity School, in West 
Philadelphia, he also held the rectorship of St. Paul's 
Memorial Church, Upper Providence. Here the learned 
professor could be seen teaching a class of country 



•ST. PAULS CHURCH. 175 

boys in the Sunday-school. He entered on his last- 
named professorial duties in 1861. Dr. May doubtless 
did much to leaven the minds of the prospective clergy, 
but he was also a sympathizer with all in trouble and a 
comforter. His death was full of Christian faith and 
hope. A friend wrote, '' He had not far to go to reach 
the gate for his conversation was in heaven." 

Dr. May was a holy man, and one greatly beloved. 
Bishop Stevens said of him, "A man of singular piety, 
purity, meekness, fervor and force." He and his wife 
were buried in St. Mary's churchyard, in West Phila- 
delphia. The Doctor died in 1863. Rev. Dr. Packard, 
his fellow-professor in Alexandria, regarded him *' as a 
model of what a minister of Christ should be." In 
twenty years he did not remember ^'anger, pride, selfish- 
ness or ambition" in him. He was humble, and 
preached solely the work and m^erits of his blessed 
Saviour. This holy man was fond of natural scenery, 
and used to watch the clouds of heaven with delight. 
May we not suppose that he now sees brighter scenes 
than earth can show to mortal eyes ? 

In 1840 the Rev. Dr. Richard Newton was elected 
rector of St. Paul's Church. His noble Christian life 
and work are fresh in the memory of us all. His son, 
Rev. Dr. William W. Newton, has given a delightful 
sketch of his life in the volume of his father's sermons 
entitled "The Heath in the Wilderness." The Doctor 
was of English birth, and in 1824 left his native town of 
Liverpool, with his father's family, to come to this 
country, when twelve years old. He had the privilege 
of visiting his boyhood home in after days. In "Bible 
Animals" he tells a story of God's providence in sparing 
,'his life, in his childhood, when a bull grazed his fore- 
head with its horns, when he was bravely stopping its 
II 



176 ST. Paul's church. 

way in the street. He had other foes to encounter in 
battling with sin in after years. He was conscientious 
from childhood. We find him at Rev. Dr. Clemson's 
school, near Wilmington, Delaware, toiling to improve 
his mind ; his future wife, Miss Lydia Greatorex, lived 
near by, and cheered "the ruddy-faced boy" in his 
efforts. The young scholar taught in the family of 
Hon. James A. Bayard. He studied at the University 
of Pennsylvania and at the General Theological Semi- 
nary, in New York. The future Bishop Whittingham, 
and Drs. Turner and Bird Wilson were then professors. 
Dr. Turner was his particular friend. The earnest 
student was styled *'the little preacher." Bishop 
Onderdonk ordained Richard Newton a deacon in 
1839. The next Sunday afternoon he preached at St. 
John's, Philadelphia, where he had spent his boyhood, 
on ** Christ, the Power of God, and the Wisdom of 
God." He struck the keynote of his public life in 
these divine words. He was married by Dr. Boyd, at 
St. John's Church, and then assumed charge of the 
young parish at West Chester, Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Newton came from West Chester, leaving many 
friends, to the rectorship of St. Paul's. He lived once 
in the church rectory on York Street, and afterwards in 
various abodes, settling finally in Clinton Street, until the 
country drew him out of town. The Doctor's home was a 
happy place for his children and he was a leader among 
his clerical brethren, and they were often under his 
hospitable roof. The services styled *' Children's 
Church," and the ''Missionary Sundays," both observed 
monthly, were strong features of the rector's successful 
work at St, Paul's. He told missionary stories with 
wonderful power, and especially prolonged that of 
John Williams to his delighted auditors. A parishioner, 



ST. PAULS CHURCH. 1)7 

named George Lewis, brought from London a piece of 
timber from the missionary ship ''John Williams," 
which Captain Loper had made into a ship, which 
voyaged the church aisles, bringing back little bags of 
gold on its deck as offerings. Thousands of dollars 
were thus raised. The Doctor was much beloved at 
Cheltenham, where a new St. Paul's Church arose ; and 
where Mr. and Mrs. Jay Cooke generonsly presented 
him with a beautiful cottage home. John W. Thomas 
and his household were also faithful friends there. 

The success of Dr. Newton's work is shown in the 
fact that, in Bishop Potter's "absence, Bishop Hopkins 
once confirmed one hundred and twelve persons at St. 
Paul's in one class. In 1862 Dr. Newton resigned the 
rectorship of St. Paul's Church to accept that of the 
Epiphany, in this city. He had been rector of St. Paul's 
twenty-two years. This truly devoted Christian man 
died at Chestnut Llill, in 1887. After labor came rest 
and praise. 

As Dr. Newton's son has narrated his father's life, so 
I am indebted to Kingston Goddard, M.D., the son of 
the next rector, Rev. Dr. Goddard, for a written sketch 
of the life of his honored father. Kingston Goddard, 
was born in Philadelphia, in 181 3, being the son of 
John Goddard, a merchant, and the grandson of Paul 
Beck. The boy spent his early life in Philadelphia, but 
studied theology in the General Seminary in New York. 
His first parish was Fishkill Landing, and his next was 
Christ Church, Brooklyn, but Emmanuel Church was 
afterward built for him. On account of the health of 
his wife he removed to Clifton, on Staten Island, becom- 
ing rector of St. John's Church. We next find him in 
the Church of the Atonement, Philadelphia, which was 
erected for him. Thence he went to Christ Church, 



178 ST. Paul's church. 

Cincinnati; which still stands on the busy street of that 
active city to repeat the story of the Cross. From this 
place, he came to St. Paul's, Philadelphia, and, on leav- 
ing here, was rector of St. Andrew's, Staten Island, for 
twelve years. He died in October of 1875 as pastor of 
that church. He was rector of this church — St. Paul's 
— from 1862 to 1866. Dr. Goddard was a striking and 
impressive preacher, and the Sunday-schools here 
flourished under his care. 

In 1866 Rev. Dr. R. Heber Newton took the rector- 
ship, which his father had once adorned. His zealous 
Sunday-school work is displayed in the pamphlet on 
the semi-centenary of the Sunday-schools in 1866. 
The long list of scholars or teachers who became 
clergy, includes Rev. Edmund Roberts, Dr. Benjamin 
Watson, Bishops Odenheimer and Starkey, Dudley A. 
Tyng, Drs. Henry A. Coit and Matlack, and George 
A. Latimer, and Professor Claxton, and Dr. Charles R. 
Hale, and Rev. Messrs. Getz, J. Sanders Reed, Samuel 
Durborow, • and Christian Wiltberger. Rev. Dr. R. 
Heber Newton is now rector of All Soul's (Anthon 
Memorial) Church, New York City, and is well known 
as a preacher and writer. Dr. Newton's son William is 
rector of St. Stephen's, Pittsfield, Mass. Mr. Thomas 
Latimer has given n\Q valuable aid in tracing the suc- 
cession of rectors. 

Rev. R. T. Roche, D.D., succeeded Dr. Heber Ncav- 
ton in this church, and lived in Dr. Pilmore's old house 
on Fifth Street. He is now in Monticello, Florida. 
Rev. Samuel H. Boyer was rector from 1872 to 1878. 
He is now the rector of the Church of the Beloved 
Disciple, Philadelphia. Rev. William S. Adamson 
was the next rector. He is now in the American Church 
at Geneva, Switzerland. Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Conrad 



ST. PAULS CHURCH. I 79 

next assumed this rectorship, and still holds this ancient 
parish, which has, however, been placed for a time under 
the charge of Dr. Nichols, of St. James's Church ; and 
let us hope and pray that the new efforts to be put forth 
may restore the church to its old state of usefulness, 
and that it may long do good service, by the Holy 
Spirit's aid, to the glory of God and the salvation of 
men, through the merits of that blessed Saviour whose 

in this joyful Advent season. 



l8o TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 



CHAPTER XV. 

Trinity Church, Oxford (Philadelphia). 

"Remember them which have the rule over you, who have 
spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow, considering 
the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, 
and to-day, and forever. — Heb. 13: j-8. 

^'^HIS discourse may be considered as an appendix 
to the invaluable book of my friend, and former 
neighbor, the Rev. Dr. Buchanan. That was a 
parish history ; this is a series of sketches of the hves 
of rectors. 

The Rev. Thomas Clayton, who died in 1698, and 
Rev. Dr. Evan Evans, and Rev. John Thomas of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia, and the Swedish clergyman, 
Andreas Rudman, meet us in the beginning of the 
history of this ancient parish, but as I have treated of 
the Christ Church clergy in a sermon at that church, 
and of the Swedish clergy in articles in the Standard of 
the Cross, I pass on to the next clergyman here, Rev. 
John Clubb. Bishop Perry's collections of the records 
of the venerable society of the English Church for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts give useful 
information as to these early clergy. We should never 
forget the kind care with which the Church of England 
nursed these weak missions, and should gladly pay the 
debt by nursing other w-eak points. 

Mr. Humphreys writes of the faithful Mr. Clubb that 
he had his hands full, " Preaching frequently to two or 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). l8l 

three congregations besides those immediately com- 
mitted to his charge by the Venerable Society." The 
church wardens and vestry of Oxford wrote the secre- 
tary, thanking for aid, and announcing the death of Mr. 
Clubb, and saying, '* It hath pleased Almighty God to 
take unto Himself, our loving and beloved pastor, Mr. 
John Clubb, your missionary who departed this life, in 
December last past." The letter is not dated. They 
ask for another clergyman. One has sometimes served 
them who left England on account of the oaths and 
other impositions, that is, government matters. The 
document is signed by " Edward Collins and others." 
It adds ''We know the want of a good minister, by 
sad experience, particularly in our great loss in the 
decease of our late Godly minister. Rev. Mr. John 
Clubb, who was entirely beloved of this congregation 
who is now, we doubt not, entered into the joy of his 
Lord." Peter Taylor and James Morgan, church-wardens 
and others signed this communication. 

Dr. Buchanan, who had noted this character of this 
good man, also adds an extract which shows that his 
death was apparently hastened by his exposure in the 
fatigue of riding twenty miles from Oxford to Radnor, 
in the "dismal" roads and severe weither of winter. 
So he must be added to the number of domestic mis- 
sionary martyrs, who have not counted their lives dear 
unto them, so that they could fulfill their Master's will, 
and finish their appointed work. The letter announcing 
the death of Mr. Clubb was written in 1718. 

Before Mr. Clubb took charge of this church. Rev. 
John Humphreys, of Chester, Pennsylvania, frequently 
visited it and for two or three years before 1714 appears 
to have had the parish under his oversight. He was 
one of the donors of the Church Paten. 



1 82 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

Mr. Humphreys wrote to the secretary of the Propa- 
gation Society in A.D., 1715, "I have a fine congrega- 
tion at Chichester, where the people, since the summer, 
built a convenient chapel." He preached monthly "to 
a good number of people," at Concord. He and Mr. 
Ross had raised a congregation at Marlborough, in 
Chester County. Chichester was Marcus Plook, where 
St. Martin's Church is now served by Rev. Gustavus 
C. Bird, and St. John's, Concord, is under the care 
of Rev. Robert L. Stevens, a nephew of Rev. Dr. 
Beasley, the former rector of All Saints', Lower Dublin, 
near Torresdale, Philadelphia. 

Mr. Humphreys was the son of a physician in Lim- 
erick, Ireland. Colonel Morris, in 1710, writes that he 
is a bachelor of arts, and a sober communicant design- 
ing *' to enter into orders." 

He moved to Virginia in 1724, and died in 1739, aged 
fifty-three. He ministered twenty-four years in this 
country, and fourteen years in St. Ann's parish, Anne 
Arundel County, Maryland. The Rev. Dr. Dorr, in his 
''History of Christ Church," Philadelphia, states that in 
1 7 18 Hon. William Keith, Lieutenant-Governor of the 
Province of Pennsylvania, a member of the vestry 
announced that in accord with his invitation, *' Rev. Mr 
Talbot, of Burlington, Mr. Humphreys, of Chester, Mr 
Ross, of New Castle, and Mr. Sandel, of Wicacoa," 
were ready to supply the vacancy in Christ Church 
''until the Bishop of London's pleasure was known.' 
In his History of the Church in this State, in the same 
volume. Dr. Dorr gives notes from the History of the 
Propagation Society, by its Secretary, Dr. David Hum- 
phreys, in which it is narrated that Rev. John Hum- 
phre};s was a very diligent missionary at Chester, loved 
by his people. The missionaries were few, and their 



:**yii 



Ilk 




1 



'l ' I 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 1 83 

tasks were heavy in serving scattered places, and fatigue 
induced sickness in this case ; and some friends invited 
Mr. Humphreys to Maryland, and thither he went, the 
Society allowing him a gratuity above his salary on his 
removal, ''on account of the hardships he suffered on 
his mission, and of his good behaviour during his being 
employed," as the old narrative quaintly expresses it. 

The Rev. Robert Weyman next draws our attention. 
His ''good and mild management" at Oxford, which 
Mr. Weyman calls "Oxon," in English style, was above 
commendation from the clergy of Pennsylvania. He 
sought not honor from men, but faithfully served his 
Divine Master, Christ. When sometimes preaching in 
Philadelphia, he is described by Governor P. Gordon as 
"a very sober good man." He held Oxford and Radnor 
together, and says that the roads were not easy of travel, 
"especially in winter, in extreme cold, nor in summer, 
in excessive heat." He had an afternoon lecture, with 
"numerous auditory," at Frankford, in the house of 
Mr. Walton, an excellent schoolmaster of good repute. 

Mr. Weyman assumed the charge of Oxford the year 
that Dr. Evans withdrew from it. For eleven years he 
worked faithfully at Oxford, and Radnor, and White- 
marsh, and his diligent zeal drew forth the constant 
"love and confidence of his increasing flock," as Rev. 
James S. M. Anderson notes in his History of the 
Colonial English Church. 

This faithful missionary was appointed by the Society 
in 1718, and reached this province on the iQth of De- 
cember, A.D., 1 7 19. He retained charge until 1732 and 
is mentioned in the first volume of the Collections of 
the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society. He worked 
acceptably in Christ Church, Philadelphia, during a 
vacancy in that parish. Dr. Buchanan styles him, "a 



184 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

person of great worth, and very diligent in the discharge 
of his ministerial duties," and mentions his traveling 
often to Conestoga, about forty miles, to baptize and 
perform clerical duty, which is quoted from Secretary 
Humphrey's reports. The first glebe of this parish on 
the Bristol turnpike, between Frankford and Holmes- 
burg, was purchased in Mr. Weyman's day 

This pioneer moved to Burlington, New Jersey, where 
he performed faithful work from the time of his removal 
to 1737. Davis's history of Bucks County names him 
as rector of Bristol in 1733. He died in Christ's ser- 
vice, with his armor on. The day before his death he 
wrote to the Society, praying for God's blessings on its 
members. Rev. Edward Vaughan, who watched his 
dying hour, sent home the testimony that he had been 
*'a true and faithful laborer in God's vineyard." That 
dying-bed was indeed "but just this side of heaven," as 
Young expresses it ; and the missionary had spent his 
life in teaching others how to die, and now exemplified 
his lessons. Thomas's History of Printing, names a son of 
Mr. Weyman named William, who learned printifig under 
Wm. Bradford, and published the New York Gazette. 

On '* St. John's Day, 24th of June 1733," as noted in 
the Church Records, the Rev. Alexander Howie suc- 
ceeded the Rev. Robert Weyman. Dr. Buchanan 
describes him as *'a conscientious, careful and good 
man." His report of work at Oxford shows faithfulness 
and success. He seems to have held St. James's, Perki- 
omen, with Oxford and W^hitemarsh. Roman Catholics, 
Anabaptists and Quakers came into the church at Perki- 
omen. The zealous missionary ran the risk of losing 
his life in riding over creeks between Whitemarsh and 
Perkiomen. The extreme cold of winter at Oxford is 
noted in the ruinous condition of the rectory, as the 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 1 85 

dilapidated building would not keep out the cold and 
the wet. In 1742 this missionary went to the West 
Indies. He expected to return, but there is no evidence 
that he did come back to this country. 

From 1742 to 1758 Rev. yEneas Ross was in charge 
of Oxford and Whitemarsh. He had acceptably filled 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, in a vacancy, and assisted 
Dr. Jenney, the rector of that parish after coming here. 
Griffith Griffith, a parishioner here, kindly remembered 
this rector in a bequest. 

Mr. Ross was the son of Rev. George Ross, a mis- 
sionary at New Castle, Delaware. Dr. Sprague gives 
an account of him in his valuable Annals. He went to 
England for orders in 1719, recommended by many 
people of New Castle. In 1741 he reports the baptism 
of twelve Negro men and women at Christ Church who 
were examined in the Catechism before the congrega- 
tion to the admiration of the hearers. Nine were bap- 
tized together, ''the like sight never before seen in 
Philadelphia Church." 

The churches in the country appointment of this cler- 
gyman were generally crowded on Sundays, and the 
men and women appeared devout. This is the report 
in 1744. In 1745 the report runs: "The chief of the 
Old Standers of Oxford are dead and there appears in 
many of their children a great share of devotion." He 
writes the Society thathe "lives on friendly terms with 
the dissenters, and hopes in time to see many of them 
conform." 

Mr. Ross had married in Philadelphia, and was to 
live at Germantown, as more convenient to reach White- 
marsh than the Oxford glebe, in winter and bad roads. 
The glebe was " in the remotest corner of Oxford 
Township from Whitemarsh." 



l86 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

The missionary gives a pleasant description of Ger- 
mantown, and of the conspicuous church at Whitemarsh, 
on its fine location, plainly seen three miles distant, 
''riding on the great road." We may imagine the cler- 
gyman and his bride on a pleasant summer day riding 
from Chestnut Hill to Whitemarsh, and talking of the 
fine view which God had spread out before them, and of 
the old church, "beautiful for situation," near the site 
of the present St. Thomas's, whose stone tower now 
presents itself so grandly to the traveler. The mud and 
snow of winter was less desirable, but the devout ser- 
vice and Holy Sacraments, and the hospitable entertain- 
ment of loving parishioners brightened even a wintry 
day. The scene has vanished. The horse and carriage 
have departed, and the riders and the faithful par- 
ishioners are in paradise, "but the earth abideth for- 
ever," and let us be thankful that the prayers and 
praises that honor God yet arise in Trinity Church, 
Oxford, and St. Thomas's Church, Whitemarsh. While 
men die, their good Christian work lives ; and the seed 
sown in faith brings forth fruit in later years. 

After living a year in Germantown, Mr. Ross moved 
to the Oxford glebe. He was cheerful and hopeful in 
his reports. His father, however, writes that the charge 
is too great for the young missionary who is in risk of 
comsumption. "His good behavior and extraordinary 
diligence" were creditable. 

In 1757 Mr. Ross was transferred to New Castle, 
Delaware, vacated a little before by the death of Rev. 
Aaron Cleveland, an ancestor of Bishop Coxe. The 
name of Rev. ^neas Ross is found in the reports of the 
Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts until about the close of the Revolu- 
tion. 



4 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 187 

The Rev. George Ross had another son, whose name 
was George, who became a statesman of distinction, 
and signed the Declaration of Independence. 

In 1758 the Rev. Hugh Neill took charge of this 
missionary station. He receives notice in Sprague's 
invaluable Annals. He v\'as " for many years minister 
of a Presbyterian Church in New Jersey." He crossed 
the sea in 1749, and was ordained by the Bishop of 
London. This distinguished clergyman had been a 
Church of England missionary in Kent County, Dela- 
ware, where his Sunday evening colored class numbered 
one hundred. Dover was in his charge. 

In 1760 the Rev. Charles Inglis, afterward Bishop of 
Nova Scotia, wrote that the Dover Church, which was 
in a very poor condition when Mr. Inglis came, was 
"finished and ornamented with a bell, pulpit-cloth, etc., 
the donations of particular gentlemen." The churches 
were crowded on Sundays. 

Mr. Neill was the uncle of Mr. Wilson who was edu- 
cated by him, and sent to England for ordination, and 
who was drowned with another young clergyman just 
ordained, as they were returning and in sight of the 
American shore. It is little wonder that Mr. Neill felt 
deeply the need of a bishop in America. We find his 
name on a petition to the Bishop of London for an 
American Bishop in Rev. Samuel A. Clark's History of 
St. John's Church, Elizabeth, New Jersey. Mr. Neill's 
ministry lasted fifteen years. 

When Mr. Neill was at Dover, he reported that the 
Duck Creek Congregation was united and the church 
in good repair. Contributions were made toward needed 
repair at Dover Church, which was called Christ Church. 
This good man showed a great desire to advance Christ's 
holy religion. He had services for Negroes on Sunday 



1 88 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (fHILADELPHIA). 

evenings and baptized one hundred and nine adults of 
them, and seventeen of their children. 

In 1760 this missionary wrote from Germantown that 
the Oxford Congregation was growing. The church 
had been pewed, and yet numbers could not be supplied 
with seats. The glebe house had been burned, and he 
had thus lost the best part of his valuable effects. The 
Governor and citizens of Philadelphia subscribed two 
hundred and fifty-five pounds for rebuilding the house, 
which was almost double the value of the ** old wooden 
building." He proposed to officiate in Germantown 
Sunday evenings. A bill was put in Assembly to sell 
the old glebe, and buy one more convenient with ''bet- 
ter land." 

In 1761 Mr. Neill reported that he ''officiated the 
chief part of last summer Sunday evenings in German- 
town, where the rising generation of the Dutch that 
understand English are well affected to the Church of 
England." Rev. Dr. William Smith and he had agreed 
to get a lot for a church and graveyard, but the plan 
did not then succeed. Those good men could not fore- 
see the number of churches now in Germantown. 
" What hath God wrought !" 

Mr. Neill went from house to house in his country 
parish, instructing his people about baptism, more effect, 
ively than by sermons, with good result. He officiated 
at St. Paul's, Philadelphia, in connection with Oxford in 
1765. He found an orderly congregation there which 
appreciated his services and made him a valuable pres- 
ent to testify their esteem. Dr. Buchanan places this 
gift in connection with a time of temporary work at St. 
Paul's which occurred after leaving Oxford. In 1767 : 
Rev. Dr. Wm. Smith wrote that Mr. Neill had left >' 
Oxford. He became rector of St. Paul's, Queen Anne's ' 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 189 

County, Maryland, and was there as late as July, 1771. 
His name occurs incidentally in Bolton's History of the 
church in Westchester County, New York. Hawkins's 
Missions, Anderson's Colonial Church, and the Protest- 
ant Episcopal Historical Society Collections contains 
notices of this excellent missionary at Oxford. 

In 1766 the Rev. Dr. William Smith assumed charge 
of this parish. He is closely connected with the gov- 
ernmental, educational and church history of Pennsylva- 
nia. He was bred at the University of Aberdeen, in 
Scotland, leaving it in 1747. He came with some 
young gentlemen to America, and' lived over two years 
in New York. In 1753 he came to Philadelphia, and 
was asked to take charge of a seminary. He went to 
England that year, and was ordained deacon and priest 
by the Bishop of London. In 1754 he returned to 
Philadelphia and formed the Seminary into the College 
of Philadelphia, on Fourth Street, which was afterward 
merged into the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith 
was the Provost of the young college, and there was a 
subordinate academy. There were near three hundred 
students from different parts of America. Dr. Smith 
was also a Trustee for the Free Schools for the Germans 
on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and adjacent Colonies. 
In England he made zealous efforts to collect money for 
his college, and Thomas Penn said it was the main 
object of his thoughts in his English solicitations. The 
care of the German Schools was met by his personal 
visitations, and he desired to have Indian children at his 
college. In 1762 he reported "about eighty strangers 
from the West Indies and Southern Colonies always 
educating in the Institution." Archbishop Seeker 
writes Rev. Dr. Peters that the funds raised were much 
beyond his expectation, and that Dr. Smith's "abilities 



190 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

and diligence have been the chief instruments of the 
success." Rev. Samuel Chandler wrote to the same 
gentleman of the Doctor's indefatigable endeavors to 
serve the college in England. Dr. Llewelin also wrote 
from the old country to Dr. Edwards, of Philadelphia, 
that Dr. Smith ought to be welcomed home with ringing 
of bells, illuminations and bonfires, and the professors 
of the College, for which he collected over 6000 pounds 
Sterling, ought to meet him half-way from New York, 
and usher him into Philadelphia ''with all the magnifi- 
cence and pomp in their power," and the students should 
attend the cavalcade, which should march through the 
principal parts of the city to the Lecture Hall, where 
orations should be delivered, praising learning and the 
generosity of the mother country. 

Dr. Smith was a leader in the blessed Society for the 
Relief of the Widows and Children of Clergymen, 
though there was a society for this object in Virginia, 
in 1754. He preached a sermon on American affairs 
which went through several editions in this country, and 
was republished in England and Ireland, and translated 
into Welsh and Swedish by Rev. Dr. Wrangel. Dr. 
Smith's works were edited by Bishop White in two 
volumes, and his grandson, Horace Wemyss Smith, has 
published a life ^of his eminent ancestor in two large- 
volumes. The sermon spoken of is given in the Patriot 
Preachers of the Revolution, edited by Frank Moore, 
which also contains one of Dr. Duche's sermons. ^Rich's 
Bibliotheca Americana Nova, Duyckinck's Cyclopaedia 
of American Literature, and Allibone's Dictionary of 
Authors notice this literary clergymen. 

He was once a private tutor in Governor Martin' 
family, on Long Island. The degree of Doctor of 
Divinity was conferred on him by Oxford University,: 
and Aberdeen College, and Trinity College, Dublin. 



I 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 19! 

In person Dr. Smith was tall and dignified, and said 
to have been intellectually beautiful in youth, as a por- 
trait by Benjamin West indicates. In 1789 he returned 
to Philadelphia, resuming the Provostship of the College. 
He had a country-seat at the Falls of the Schuylkill. He 
was a great writer and published much. He was 
active in public affairs as well as in the church and was 
an eloquent preacher, and is classed with Rittenhouse 
as an astronomer. 

The wife of this Oxford clergyman was Rebecca, 
daughter of William Moore, of Moore Hall, Pennsyl- 
vania, who was a descendant of Sir John Moore. She 
was an accomplished lady. 

Dr. Smith went from Pennsylvania to Maryland, 
where he was rector in Chestertown, and established a 
large Classical Seminary, which became Washington 
College. Washington was a trustee and Dr. Smith was 
the president. He was also the president of the First 
Maryland Church Convention, and was elected bishop, 
but could not afford to go to England for consecration. 
He was prominent on the committee with Bishop White 
and Rev. Dr. Wharton in revising the Prayer-book. He 
died in 1803, aged seventy-five. 

This clergyman deserves special remembrance in the 
American Church as the author of the Preface to the 
American Prayer-book. Bishop Hobart was his pupil 
in the College of Philadelphia. 

In 1785, by a strange coincidence, another Rev. Dr. 
William Smith, who was also a teacher for a time, 
became for a short period the minister of this church 
and of All Saints', Lower Dublin, and Dr. Buchanan 
adds ''most probably" of St. Thomas's, Whitemarsh. 
The Hon. Gulian C. Verplanck gave an interesting 
account of him in Sprague's Annals, which I will 
12 



192 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

abridge. He lived in Connecticut and was a man of 
influence there. He was born in Scotland. The Office 
of Institution in the Prayer-book was composed by him.^ 
He also wrote an important book on Church Music and 
is believed to have exerted an important influence in the 
advancement of chanting in an early day. His book per- 
tains to vocal music, and he was a practical musician. 

Dr. Smith was born in 1754, and was educated in one 
of the Scotch Universities, and came to this country as 
a clergyman in 1785. He was a good scholar. 

He held Stepney parish, in Maryland, St. Paul's, Nar- 
ragansett, Rhode Island, and Trinity Church, Newport, 
and was influential in organizing the church in Rhode 
Island, preaching the Convention Sermon in 1790, which 
was printed. He became rector of St. Paul's Church, 
Norwalk, Connecticut. Afterward he was at the head 
of a school in New York City, and then of the famous 
Episcopal Academy,^ at Cheshire, Connecticut, where 
students were often educated for the clerical life. He 
was an ardent man with a bright fancy, and warmed by 
religious zeal and devotion. He had a kind heart. In 
stature he was short, and in motion lively. He was an, 
animated extemporaneous preacher. He died in New; 
York in 1821, in his sixty-ninth year. Reference is; 
made in the sketch to the History of the Episcopal 
Church in Narragansett, by Updike. 

In 1786 Rev. Dr. Joseph Pilmore succeeded this 
clergyman. I have treated of this remarkable and, 
zealous man in the Standard of the Cross and in a ser-^ 
mon at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, where he was 
rector. Bishop Hobart was the next rector. 

Bishop John Henry Hobart was of English descent. 
His grandfather married a Swedish lady, and settled 
where Kensington, Philadelphia, now is. The father of 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 1 93 

the Bishop was the faithful captain of a merchant ship. 
His mother was Hannah Pratt. The Bishop was born 
in 1775, and the following year his father died, and his 
pious and accomplished mother trained her distinguished 
son. He attended Mr. Leslie's school, and the Episco- 
pal Academy, then under the Rev. Dr. John Andrews, 
afterward Provost of the University. He was a good 
scholar, and entered the College of Philadelphia before 
he was fourteen. In his fifteenth year the serious youth 
was confirmed by Bishop White, who was afterward to 
ordain and consecrate him. Young Hobart went to 
Princeton College where he graduated with high honor. 
After a little experience in mercantile life, he became a 
tutor at Princeton, studying theology also under Bishop 
White and Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, President of 
Princeton College. In 1798 he was ordained deacon. 
The young divine took charge of Trinity Church, 
Oxford, and All Saints', Lower Dublin. He was after- 
wards rector of Christ Church, New Brunswick, N. J., 
and St. George's, Hempstead, L. I. He became an 
assistant minister at Trinity Church, New York City, 
and was ordained priest by Bishop Provoost. Mr. 
Hobart married Mary Goodwin, the daughter of Dr. 

\ Chandler, of Elizabeth, N. J., one of the most noted of 
our early clergy. In 181 1 Dr. Hobart was elected 
assistant bishop of New York. His Episcopate was a 
laborious and brilliant one, as he was foremost in Chris- 
tian labors, and stood prominent in the General Conven- 
tion, and added the duties of a professorship in the 
General Theological Seminary to the cares of his 

|| Diocese ; also assisting the Diocese of New Jersey, 
before the consecration of its first Bishop, Dr. Croes, in 
1815. For some time he also had charge of Connec- 
ticut during a vacancy in its P^piscopate. In addition 



194 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

to the furtherance of missions, Sunday-schools and 
tract distribution, and the circulation of Bibles and 
Prayer-books, Bishop Hobart took great interest in the 
Oneida Indians and ordained Eleazar Williams, thought 
by many an heir of the French Crown, as their min- 
ister. The Bishop died at Auburn, N. Y., at the house 
of the Rev. Dr. Rudd, in 1830. His Christian faith 
overcame death. His funeral was in the city of New 
York, which was deeply moved at its great loss. There 
are thirteen funeral sermons in his Memoir. The 
Bishop's son became an assistant minister of Trinity 
Church where his father had served. 

Bishop Hobart was a voluminous and powerful writer 
and left many w^orks in print. The Rev. Dr. James M. 
Matthews describes the Bishop as true-hearted and gen- 
erous in his friendship toward him, and as quick and 
energetic in character. His eye was clear and piercing, 
and his expression intellectual, as his picture indicates. 
He was a rapid walker, and a rapid and earnest talker. 
He was sympathetic and ready to relieve distress. The 
Bishop preached in a rapid and earnest manner. He 
believed w^hat he said, and tried to make his hearers 
believe it. He admired the works of Baxter. His deep 
attachment to the church led him to strive zealously to 
advance its interests. 

Governor John A. King speaks of the Bishop as a 
transparent man, of an ** elevated impetuosity " that fired 
his life. Governor King's father was a \varden of Trinity 
Church, and a trustee of Columbia College, so that the 
family were well acquainted with the Bishop. The 
Bishop was natural, siiicere and thorough in his char- 
acter. He was strong in his sense of right, and firm in 
purpose to the point of heroism. His knowledge was 
ever at his command. He w^as a great leader, and a 



i 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 195 

fine debater. In preaching there was a glow and flash 
of fire within, as Governor King describes it. He 
appeared dignified in the pulpit, and his sermons were 
concise and pointed. His influence as a bishop over his 
large Diocese was very great. In his toilsome and 
abundant labors this busy man who loved country life 
dearly, but was often pent up in the city of New York, 
must have often reverted in thought to the first year of 
his ministry, when as a deacon he rode through the beau- 
tiful country district between Oxford and All Saints' 
Churches, learning lessons of spiritual life to aid him in 
after years, and it maybe presumed that the simple ser- 
vices with his rustic flock were ever dear to his memory. 
Bishop Hare, of South Dakota, is a grandson of Bishop 
Hobart, as his mother, the wife of Rev. Professor Hare 
was Bishop Hobart's daughter. 

I find it recorded in the Church Records that Rev. 
James Wiltbank was called to the rectorship of this 
parish in 1809, and was acting as rector on the first of 
January, A.D., 1810. He resigned this position in 
1816. 

According to the fashion of the day this worthy'rector 
was styled " Parson Wiltbank." He left the savor of a 
good name, Mr. Overington recollects his faithful min- 
istry. The Rev. Dr. James W. Robins, the head-master 
of the Episcopal Academy, is a grandson of this clergy- 
man, and his son. Dr. R. P. Robins has given me some 
items regarding Mr. Wiltbank. Pie was the son of John 
and Mary Shanklands Wiltbank, and was born at Lewes, 
in Delaware, in 1773. He was descended from Helmanns, 
or Hermanns Frederick Wiltbank, who probably emi- 
grated from Holland. He settled where Lewes now 
stands, and held various important offices there, both 
under the Dutch and English Governments. 



196 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

Rev. James Wiltbank graduated at the University of 
Pennsylvania in 1791. Bishop White ordained him a 
deacon on the first of March, 1795. From that year 
until 1809 he was rector of St. George's Church, in 
Sussex County, Delaware. I have worshiped in the 
fine old church, built of brick in the old style, in its 
ample churchyard where he used to serve. In this 
parish Mr. Wiltbank held All Saints', Lower Dublin, 
and St. Thomas's, Whitemarsh, as well as Trinity 
Church, Oxford. He was head-master of the Grammar 
School of the University of Pennsylvania from 18 14 to 
1830. From 1836 until the time of his death in 1842, 
he was chaplain in ,the United States Navy. His wife 
was Mary, the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Paynter 
White. W. W. Wiltbank, Esq., of Philadelphia, is a 
grandson of Rev. James Wiltbank. 

The Rev. Frederick B. Scheetz, rector of Grace 
Church, Kirkwood, Missouri, the son of your former 
rector, has kindly sent rne a sketch of the life of his 
father, who is still remembered with affection and honor 
by persons in this neighborhood. He was devoted to 
his work, and had the esteem and love of his parishioners. 

He was born on the 27th of January, A.D., 1785, so 
that to-morrow would mark his birthday, but he is 
beyond those marks of time. His father died when he 
was a little boy. He was employed by a relative to 
learn paper-making, but in time entered the ministry 
among the Methodists. The son thinks that this was 
about the period when he became of age. He was first 
engaged in laboring in the peninsula between Chesa- 
peake Bay and Delaware Bay, afterwards in Wilming- 
ton, Delaware, and then in Philadelphia, it is thought in 
the church on Fourth Street, near Arch Street. 

Bishop White ordained Mr. Scheetz a deacon in St. 
James's Church, Philadelphia, on the 14th of May, A.D., 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 1 97 

1816. He had been prepared for ordination under the 
guidance and instruction of the bishop. He was a 
special friend of the bishop who ordained him to the priest- 
hood in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, on July 20th, 

1817. He officiated at the bishop's funeral. "On being 
admitted to the Diaconate he assumed charge of this 
parish in connection with that of All Saints', Lower 
Dublin, and held them conjointly until their separation 
in 1835, when he became rector of Oxford alone and 
retained that position until 1854. A short time after 
that he moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and became 
rector of St. James's Church, Stanton, a few miles from 
that city. In 1857 he removed to Missouri, where, his 
son was a deacon in charge of St. Jude's Church, 
Sharpsburg, where the father had the position of rector, 
though he only occasionally performed ministerial work 
until his death, which occurred in Chicago, on February 
21, 1867. 

Mr. Scheetz lived for a short time in Bustleton, and 
also at Collegeville, where the Academy Road joins the 
Bristol Pike. He moved thence to Sandiford, where he 
owned the farm on which Charles Snyder now resides, 
and his study still stands as a separate building of stone. 
He afterward lived in Frankford. 

This good country parson was devout and studious 
from childhood. He picked up learning from books 
brought to the paper mill as waste paper to be made 
over, making these fragments of volumes useful. He 
obtained a knowledge of Latin and Greek while riding 
on horseback in his peninsula appointments. • 

Emmanuel, Flolmesburg, and St. Mark's, Frankford, 

were founded during his rectorship. Mr. Scheetz 

, married Mrs. Maria May Browning, whose maiden 

I name was Capelle, on the 12th of September, 1811. 



igS TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

She was born on March 28th, 1787, and died on the 7th 
of April, i860. 

When it became needful to separate this parish from 
All Saints, that both might have more frequent services, 
the love of each parish was shown to the rector in the 
fact that both desired to secure his sole services. He 
has been described to me of a medium size, dignified 
and impressive in manner. His solemn way of saying 
grace at table, lingers in the memory of one who noticed 
it in childhood. His white hair was brushed back from 
his forehead, and added to his patriarchal appearance. 
He was popular in marrying, and people came from a 
long distance to secure his services for such occasions. 
In the Diocesan journals of Delaware, I noticed that he 
held services in a district school-room in the evenings, 
which were well attended. He reports the death of 
Mrs. Catherine Justis, a pious widow lady who for about 
twenty years had had charge of the Communion Service 
at Stanton, and provided for the Lord's Table, and says 
that she had " gone to her everlasting rest in the 
sweetest peace." This beautiful expression now befits 
our departed brother. In the saintly Bishop Lee, Mr. 
Scheetz found one like-minded with himself. When 
the vestry of Oxford passed resolutions of sorrow at his 
resignation they speak touchingly of having grown up 
from boyhood under his ministry, and of his untiring 
zeal and kindness, and of the churches erected under 
him. In 1834, George Breck, as a committee of All 
Saints' Church, writes a loving letter on the resignation 
of Mr. Scheetz. 

It is a touching duty to look over such ancient church 
records as those possessed by Trinity Church, Oxford, 
which by the courtesy of the accounting warden, 
Mr. William Overington, have been submitted to my 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 1 99 

inspection, Mr. Overington's memory can supply miss- 
ing links. The old yellow paper has faithfully held the ink 
which hands now dead used to record the joys and sor- 
rows of human life, as baptisms, weddings and burials 
succeed each other. Here is the record of a, son of the 
clergyman HughNeill, also named Hugh, born in 1761. 
In 1 7 13 John Humphreys, a missionary, baptizes mem- 
bers of Hickst family, of Springfield Manor. 

In 1795 Rev. Mr. Armor occasionally preaches at 
Trinity Church. From 1802 to 1804 the .Rev. Charles 
Cotton holds Trinity and All Saints' Churches. In 1806 
Rev. Mr. Nankivel seems to have served these two 
parishes. After Mr. Cotton, Dr. Abercrombie fre- 
quently served the parish, and is remembered by Mr. 
Overington. The Rev. Dr. Edward Young Buchanan, 
whose first name commemorates the devout author of 
the ''Night Thoughts," succeeded Mr. Scheetz in the 
rectorship of Oxford in 1854. He is a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and had been rector of St. John's Church, at 
Peaquea, in Chester County, and of other parishes in 
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He graduated at the 
General Theological Seminary in New York in 1832, in 
a class which contains the names of Dr. Hallan, author 
of Lectures on the Prayer-book, and Dr. Smedes, after- 
ward the head of St. Mary's School at Raleigh, North 
Carolina. Drs. Haight and Norwood were in the pre- 
ceding class. Dr. Buchanan had been a student at 
Dickinson College before entering the seminary. Trinity 
College gave him the degree of Doctor of Sacred The- 
ology. At Oxford he opened a Sunday-school, at the 
parish church and afterward at Crescentville, and held 
services in the Lyceum at Jenkintown, where the Church 
of our Saviour arose. A good parsonage was built at 
Oxford, and a tower was erected, and a bell placed in it 



200 TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 

by the liberality of Mrs. Mary P. Lardner. The chapel 
at Crescentville was built on ground given by the Misses 
Fisher, and the building was afterward enlarged. The 
parish church was improved. The corner-stone of the 
chapel was laid by Bishop Stevens in 1870. Mr. Wm. 
H. Rhawn informs me that Rev. Mr. Scheetz, and 
Rev. Dr. Buchanan held services in the octagon school- 
house at Fox Chase. In 1882 this rector, who had won 
the love of his people by nearly twenty-eight years of 
faithful work, was succeeded in the rectorship by Rev. 
R. Bowden Shepherd, who had been his assistant. Mr. 
Shepherd was ordained a priest in this church, being 
presented by Dr. Buchanan. A parish building begun,, 
under Dr. Buchanan's rectorship, was finished* under 
Mr. Shepherd's, and made a memorial of Dr. Buchanan. 
After a short and successful rectorship, Mr. Shepherd 
accepted a call to the Church of the Advent, Phila- 
delphia, in 1S85. The Rev. Henry Macbeth succeeded 
him. He is a graduate of Hobart College, at Geneva, 
New York, and of the Berkeley Divinity School, at 
Middletown, Connecticut. He was assistant at St. John's 
Church, Troy, New York, when called to this parish, 
which he assumed on All Saints' Day, A.D., 1885. His 
rectorship has been marked by a beautiful improvement 
in the church building in which the architects, Furness, 
Evans & Company, have w^ith great skill kept up the 
antiquity with added beauty, until one wonders how the 
old building could be so changed and yet retain its 
characteristics. The cathedral glass and chancel window, 
and brass lectern and credence-table of brass and 
walnut, and beautiful pulpit and font show how the 
living love to keep up the memory of the dead in their 
holy worship, and perhaps the spirits of the departed 
whose mortal remains lie about us In this ancient 
cemetery rejoice In this worship. 



TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD (PHILADELPHIA). 201 

May your present rector have still greater success as 
the years pass on, and when you reflect on the hard- 
ships and toils of those who ministered h^re in the 
poverty of early days, in an unfloored church, may you 
be moved to do much to further the work of Christ 
about you in this growing region, and may this parish, 
as in times past, be the mother of churches, while she 
holds fast to that unfailing faith in Christ, whom the 
text declares to be "the same yesterday, and to-day and 
forever." May the passing years then bring us to that 
better land where his worship is a ceaseless occupation 
and a constant joy. 

The Rev. Mr. Macbeth has put out an earnest pamphlet 
urging a large endowment for this old church. It 
would be a wise step, and may it be a great success. 



St. Mark's strong and remarkably well organized parish in 
Frankford, is a daughter of Trinity Church. Rev. Dr. H. S. 
Spackman was the first rector. Rev. Dr. D. S. Miller and Rev. 
R. C. Booth, the following rectors gave its history'-, with Herbert 
Welsh, in a Jubilee volume, Rev. F. B. Avery is now rector. 

St. Stephen's, Bridesburg, is a child of St. Mark's. The church 
was consecrated in A.D., 1870. Wm. Welsh largely furthered the 
work. The Rev. Messrs. Wm. Jarrett, Isaac Martin, M.D., 
George B. Pratt, J. H. Appleton, W. F. Watkins, Jr. and Walter 
Jordan were the successive rectors. Mr. Jordan is the present 
rector. 

St. Paul's, Harrowgate, is a memorial to Wm, Welsh. The 
corner-stone was laid November ist, 1881, by Bishop Stevens, 
Rev. Dr. D. S. Miller and other clergy assisting. The rectors 
have been Rev. Henry E. Cooke and Rev. D. A. Bonner. Rev. 
E. J. Humes and Rev. H. A. F. Hoyt have had temporary charge, 
and Mr. Hoyt is now conducting the parish. 

The parishes named on page 86, etc., were intended for this 
place. Rev. C. H. Kidder should be added to the list of Tacony 
rectors there. 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Church of the Epiphany.* 

"Arise, shine ; for thy Hght is come, and the glory of the Lord 
is risen upon thee." — Isaiah 60 : i. 

THE diffusion of spiritual life has made this prophecy 
good with regard to the thousands on earth and 
in Paradise who have found salvation in this 
Church oi the Epiphany, and the symbol of spreading 
light, encircling the initial letters of Christ's holy name, 
in your chancel well indicates the diffusiveness of 
Christianity. 

In A.D., 1833 Rev. Dr. S. H. Tyng took charge of 
this infant parish ; in the cheerful and happy evening of 
a well-spent life he was grateful to God and man for 
what he had been permitted to enjoy and accomplish, 
looking for a glad morrow in the Paradise of God. 
Both he and his father were baptized by Bishop Bass at 
his birthplace, Newburyport, Mass. His affectionate 
father was a godly lawyer, the Hon. Dudley Atkins 
Tyng. The son lived to a greater age than the father, 
but in extreme age gladly performed his preaching and 
other duties while strength lasted. His mother died 
when he was a child, but a beloved grandmother and 
maiden aunt brightened his early days. He preached 
his first sermon after ordination in the church in which 
he had been baptized, and received his first communion. 



* While the Epiphany is younger than the other parishes 
treated of, I have added a sketch of its clergy at the request of 
my friend the Rev. G, H. Kinsolving, the present rector, 



I 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 203 

At six years of age, the lad went to boarding-school 
at Quincy, Mass., under Rev. Peter Whitney. He was 
afterward a lay-reader in that town. He was a pupil at 
Phillips Academy, Andover, where he received religious 
benefit from the effects of the young theological semin- 
ary, with its religious meetings, and from association 
with the pious students of the academy, two of whom, 
Daniel Temple and William Goodell, became foreign 
missionaries. At Brighton young Tyng studied under 
Dr. Benjamin Allen, an Episcopalian, who had been a 
professor in Union College, and the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He was a patient, sympathetic and stimulating 
teacher. The pupil passed through Harvard College. 
He played the organ in the church at Cambridge, where 
he was confirmed by Bishop Griswold. There was a 
determined will in this lad, and that is useful when it is 
rightly guided. 

The young man entered the East India House of 
Samuel G. Perkins & Co., of Boston. The wife of Mr. 
Perkins was his father's sister. Edward A. Newton, 
who married Dr. Tyng's sister, Susan, was a partner. 
Mr. Newton was living in Calcutta, and the plan was 
that in two years the new clerk should take his place there. 
We now find him worshiping in Trinity Church, under 
the rectorship of Dr. Gardiner. He prospered in bus- 
iness life, and looked forward with pleasure to his 
Indian sojourn; but one morning, before rising, he 
seemed to hear a voice, as if the Lord were calling him, 
and rebuking him for a wasted life. He at once respond- 
ed to the Divine call, in a prayer devoting himself to 
God's service, and, thus converted, started on a new 
life in the service of Christ. He was indeed a new man 
in Christ Jesus. His after life witnessed the reality of 
this conversion. A humble Christian woman helped to 



204 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

guide him to the truth. He left prospective wealth, and 
sought true and lasting riches, and a treasure ''that 
fadeth not away in heaven." He determined to enter 
the sacred ministry, and Rev. James Morse, of New- 
buryport, encouraged his plans with Christian sympathy. 
He made the acquaintance of Dr. Dorr, who was 
entering on a preparation for the ministry. His father, 
to his great delight, arranged for him to study with the 
saintly Bishop Griswold, at Bristol, Rhode Island, So 
God wonderfully guided him. He married the lovely 
and pious daughter of the bishop, and his veneration 
and esteem for the Godly father continued through life, for 
he ever made him his guide and pattern, and he thought 
the time spent under his care at Bristol a golden spot in 
his career. 

In a simple meeting at a farm-house, where the bishop 
led the service with his Bible and Prayer-book, and 
expounded the Scipture in the crowded rooms, the 
student was struck with the solemnity of the scene, as well 
as its sublimity. He learned pastoral work by accom- 
panying the bishop on his merciful errands to the poor. 
In the bishop's absence, with other students, he con- 
ducted social meetings, and spoke extemporaneously, 
in which work the ruddy youth soon succeeded. These 
meetings soon fell entirely under his care, and he held 
service in a school-room. The story of Daniel Waldron, 
in *' The Spencers," narrates the first fruits of his min- 
istry in that sailor boy. A revival demanded three 
daily services from the young student, and taught him 
how to do effective work in winning souls to Christ. 
The bishop was sick during much of this time, but, 
when he was able, Mr. Tyng brought nearly fifty con- 
verts to his house to receive instruction and encourage- 
ment. There was a large confirmation. 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 205 

This zealous worker was ordained deacon in A.D., 
182 1, in St. Michael's Church, Bristol, by Bishop Gris- 
wold, the Rev, Dr. Jarvis preaching the sermon. 

The newly ordained clergyman visited New York 
City, where he found a good friend in his former college 
tutor, Rev. Dr. afterward Bishop, Wainwright, and 
received kindness from Bishop Hobart, and Dr. Milnor. 
His first rectorship was at St. John's, Georgetovv-n, D. C. 
He took this position when he was only tvv'enty-one 
years old. He married his devoted wife, and opened a 
private school. After a short and successful rectorship 
in this pleasant town, he went to Queen Anne parish, 
Prince George's County, Maryland, which covered an 
extensive country district, containing a church and a 
chapel at some distance from the church. Here warm 
southern hospitality was evinced, and the active rector 
preached on week-day evenings at houses where families 
were collected, and the slaves were included in the con- 
gregation. He worked beyond the bounds of his wide 
parish, averaging one hundred miles of horseback-riding 
a week. Sometimes he would preach in the large rooms 
of taverns. At tim^es he extended his missionary work 
to Lower Virginia. He preached boldly, without notes, 
and God gave him fruits of his labor. In winter he 
could study in his pleasant rectory, when he traveled 
less. He taught school during a part of the time in 
which he held this truly rural parish among southern 
plantations. 

From this point Dr. Tyng came to his wondrously 
successful work in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 
Here for over two years there was a weekly prayer 
meeting at six o'clock in the morning. The church on 
Sundays was crowded, and the services were solemn 
and impressive, while the rector was strong in his 



2o6 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

personal appeals to duty. Some may yet remember the 
crowded aisles at the Sunday night services, when the 
power of God was present to give spiritual healing. 

The wife of Dr. Tyng died in sublime faith, closing a 
holy life, at an early age, in 1832. He afterward 
married Miss Mitchell, the daughter of Thomas Mitchell, 
of Philadelphia, who proved an excellent consort. 

When Dr. Tyng accepted this parish of the Epiphany 
the church had not been erected. He traveled south to 
enlist interest in a Manual Labor School, and he preached 
in a theatre in Charleston, where Rev. William Barnwell 
and his church undertook to have meetings, and the 
services did much good. Bishop Boone was drawn to 
Christ by Dr. Tyng's work at this theatre. 

The corner-stone of Epiphany Church was laid by 
Bishop White, March 24th, 1834, and on the first Sun- 
day of the following August, the lecture room was used 
for Divine worship and on the 24th of October following, 
the Church was consecrated by Bishop White. 

Dr. Tyng finished his very successful rectorship here 
in 1845. The Sunday-schools had grown to a wonder- 
ful size under his wise guidance. The Doctor visited 
Great Britain where he made many useful acquaintances 
among the English clergy. He afterward made several 
visits to Europe. When he went to St. George's, New 
York, to take the place of his lamented friend Dr. 
Milnor, he closed twenty-four years of faithful labor in 
Philadelphia to enter on a wondrous career of fruitful 
work in a new city. 

The son of Dr. Tyng, C. Rockland Tyng, has sent me; 
an extract from a Memoir of his father, which he is 
about to publish, which states that the new Church of 
the Epiphany was in quite a suburban position when he 
felt it his duty to go from his beloved St. Paul's to found 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 207 

it. He speaks of the strong interest of the gentlemen 
engaged in the new work, and how the building was 
pushed along with rapidity. 

Dr. Tyng's occasional sermons, to be seen at the 
Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, show 
some of the main objects which interested him. His 
sermon on the Duty of Private Judgment pleads for the 
liberty wherewith Christ made His people free. His 
plea for union before the Diocesan Convention of 1844, 
sought ''the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" 
among brethren in the household of faith, looking to 
Creeds, rather than scholastic definitions, as a basis of 
unity, which demands Christian life, and an ascription 
of salvation to Christ's merits. He . sees a purpose 
among the Church Clergy to teach, as he expresses it, 
"that great salvation, which the Father hath offered, 
and which the Son hath perfected, and which the Holy 
Spirit applies to the souls of men." He asserts his 
faith in the Apostolic Constitution of our Church, and 
its character as the keeper and witness of the truth. 
There will be unity in the heavenly song before the 
throne of God and the Lamb, and this heavenly spirit 
should be found on earth. Then would the world honor 
us, and useful lives would end in happy deaths of those 
united here in the Ploly Communion by the Spirit in 
peace and love. Thus did he exhort the Convention. 
His sermon on the connection between early religious 
training and mature religion showed his intense interest 
in Sunday-schools. He preached a special sermon to 
medical students, and one on the advantages of manual 
labor in education. 

Dr. Tyng's earnest Christian faith was the secret of 
that marvellous success which everywhere attended his 
labors. His clear voice rang out with power, and his 
13 



208 THE CHURCH OF THE EriPHANV. 

sentiments found echoes in many hearts, because he 
believed what he spoke, and the Holy Spirit blessed the 
faithful words of this magnetic man, who led thousands 
to glory. God help us all to imitate that faith. 

The Rev. James H. Fowleswas the next rector of this 
Church. His earnest and solemn face may be seen in 
a portrait in your vestry room. It represents a man 
who thought religion the business of his life. In 1S55 
his sermons were printed in a volume for the congrega- 
tion. The biography prefixed delineates a character 
which endeavored to reflect Christ, and not self, in 
modesty and humility. 

Henry Fowles was a lieutenant in the English army, 
whose grandfather was an officer of some note. This 
English lieutenant married an Amarican girl, but died 
at the early age of twenty-two. Your rector was his 
son James Henry, who was born in Nassau, New Provi- 
dence, and left as an infant by his father's death. The 
child was given to God in Holy Baptism by an English 
clergyman, and found a heavenly Father to take the 
place of the earthly one. His military father was a 
member of the Church of England. The mother lived 
in St. Mary's, Georgia, but died while her son was study- 
ing theology. The young man was educated at Yale 
College and was studious and respected. He graduated 
in 1 83 1. He studied theology under Rev. Dr. Taylor, 
at New Haven, and was licensed to preach by the Presby- 
terians. At Beaufort, South Carolina, in a religious awak- 
ening in the Episcopal Church, he was drawn toward 
her peaceful fold and was ordained by Bishop Bowen. 
He took charge of a country parish in South Carolina 
known as St. John's, Berkeley, and was afterward in^ 
Edgefield district, where he did good work for Christ. 
He was after this at Wilton, where he married Miss I 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 2O9 

Matilda Maxcy, of Beaufort, South Carolina. It was 
the custom of the devoted rector to preach to the 
Negroes on the plantations, which work cost him many 
fatiguing journeys-. "He was in St. Bart's parish, where 
his ministry was "greatly blessed." He loved the 
church liturgy as a standard elevating the feelings, and 
thought its effect increased by repetition. He deemed it 
full of spirituality 

In A.D., 1845, this good man was called to the rec- 
torship of the Epiphany. Bishop Stephen Elliott, of 
Georgia, and Rev. Dr. J. R. Walker, of Beaufort, South 
Carolina, commended him to the vestry. He was sound 
in doctrine, clear in teaching, and of strong mental 
power, while a holy and transparent life made him a 
pattern for his flock. He was universally revered. His 
first sermon, before he had accepted the call, made a 
decided impression. The grace of Christ was his fav- 
orite theme, as he dwelt on the Redeemer's love to 
sinful man, ever seeking the Holy Spirit's aid to guide his 
work. He was bold and energetic in preaching, and in 
calling the sinful to the refuge in Christ. The purity and 
sovereignty of God, and the atonement of Christ, and 
the power of the Holy Spirit for sanctifications were 
his peculiar topics. This church was enlarged under 
his ministry, though it was the largest Episcopal Church 
in this city. The rector's health, was weak, but he 
toiled in the pulpit and in private, by letter-writing and 
conversation. 

In 1849 he went to Great Britain for his health, making 
Christian friends there. He was sympathetic in his 
affections. 

In 1853 he was elected a delegate to the General 
Convention, but was detained by illness from attending 
it. He went south to die among Christian friends. 



2IO THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

saying at the last to bis wife, '*I am going to Jesus, you 
must meet me there," and laying his hand, chilling in 
death on her, he blessed her. He died on a Lord's 
day evening, the 5th of March, A.D., 1854, in his forty- 
second year. The Philadelphia clergy took action 
showing their appreciation of their brother. Dr. Stevens, 
(afterward bishop), in preaching concerning him to the 
congregation at St. Andrews', spoke of his theology as 
''eminently Biblical," and said his sermons ''were 
fragrant with the outpoured ointment of the Saviour's 
name," and that his work was lasting " heart work." 
Bishop Alonzo Potter, at the funeral, spoke of his 
** unspotted life," and "resolute spirit." A friend de- 
scribed his great characteristic as "singleness," while 
his tenderness was likened to that of St. John, and his 
pbsitiveness to that of St. Paul. Rev. Dr. Kingston 
Goddard, in a sermon preached at his own Church of the 
Atonement, and at the Epiphany, traced the instructive 
pastor, and investigating Bible student, who taught the 
need of the Holy Spirit to comprehend Divine truth, 
and sought from God his own instruction in heavenly 
knowledge. Dr. Goddard said that his piety was best 
seen by those nearest him. He described him as dead 
to the world, and living in Christ's presence in constant 
prayer. It was indeed the overshadowing of the mercy- 
seat which shed such a lustre on this servant of God. 
The Rev. J. Maxwell Pringle has called my attention to 
his letter describing the death of Mr, Fowles, to the 
church warden, -Lewis R. Ashurst. It was written at 
the parsonage of Zion Church, Richland, South Caro- 
lina, where Mr. Pringle was rector, aad Mr. Fowles 
died in the house of this Christian brother. " The faith 
and patience of the dying man were sublime. He was 
frequently quoting texts from the Word of God as to 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 211 

the right judgments of God, and the 'Might affliction" 
of his servant, who, as a joint heir with Christ, was 
ready to suffer with Him that he might be glorified 
with Him. He indeed made his refuge under the shadow 
of the Divine wings. In prayer he called to mind the 
Saviour's sympathy with his sufferings. A Psalm sung 
at his mother's funeral lingered in his memory : 

" My flesh shall slumber in the ground, 
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound ; 
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise, 
And in my Saviour's image rise." 

He felt the chastening of the Lord to be blessed, and 
on his death-bed was zealous in calling others to a 
knowledge of Christ's salvation. The ''weary pilgrim," 
as he often called himself, enjoyed the surrounding 
beauties of nature in his last illness. He wished to be 
buried among his flock at this church. As the body 
failed he desired sanctification rather than a restoration 
to health. He asked that the hymn " Rock of Ages " 
be sung, and wanted to die with the * 'blessed words," 
as he called them, in -his mouth : " Whom have I in 
heaven but Thee, and there is none upon earth that I 
desire besides Thee." He submitted to God's will, and 
died in peace. On the Sunday morning of his death he 
said that it was the time for him to be shaking hands 
with his Sunday-school children, and he had previously 
sent love to the vestry and congregation of the Epiph- 
any. In the early evening he crossed his hands on his 
breast, and gave up his spirit to God. This touching 
account is in the twentieth annual Pastoral Report of 
this parish for the year 1854. Bishop Mcllvaine wrote 
Mr. Pringle of his deep interest in the narrative. That 
southern death-scene brought sadness to many a north- 
ern household when this congregation learned of their 



212 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

great loss. The granite shaft which draws the notice of 
the passer in the busy street before your chuch contains 
the words of Scripture, ''The Lord God Omnipotent 
Reigneth." They well befit this tomb, for the Sover- 
eignty of God was the great thought of him whom it 
commemorates, and in illness he wished his people to 
pray rather that God might be glorified than that 
he might be restored to health. The monument is 
inscribed: ''Erected by a grateful and sorrowing con- 
gregation," and gives the date of Mr. Fowles's birth as 
November 27th, A.D., 18 12, and that of his death as 
March 5th, A.D., 1854. His rectorship of this church 
is marked as lasting from A.D., 1845 to A.D., 1854. 

The history of this parish has been wisely preserved by 
annual printed pastoral reports. Those made by Mr. 
Fowles show a strong desire for the salvation of the 
young and old in his flock, and that Christ might be 
born in them "as the hope of glory." In the report of 
1847 the rector pays a loving tribute to Rev. E. J. P. 
Messinger, who had been brought to Christ by means of 
Dr. Bedell, but was a devoted and useful member of 
Epiphany Church, and the teacher of an infant Sunday- 
school. He died in Africa a few weeks after entering 
on mission work, testifying to his Saviour's love with 
his dying breath. A printing-press called the " Messin- ■ 
ger Press" was sent to Africa by your Sunday-school, 
and catechisms and tracts printed by it continued the 
good work among the heathen, distributifig "the words 
of this life." A tribute to Mrs. Sarah A. Newbold, a 
female Bible-class teacher who had died in the Lord, 
closes with the hope of a reunion in Paradise, which 
hope is now accomplished. Milton Smith, a teacher of 
an infant class, is also lovingly remembered at his 
death. The last report of Mr. Fowles was glowing with 
hope for future parish work. 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 213 

James H. Fowles, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, the 
son of your former rector, has sent me additional partic- 
ulars. The Epiphany sent Mrs. Fowles ten thousand 
dollars after her husband's death, as a noble gift. She 
died in Newbury Court House, South Carolina, in 1880, 
having suffered in Christian patience. There were eight 
children, but three of whom are now living, one daughter. 
Miss Eliza Fowles having died while this discourse was 
preparing. Her's was a triumphant death. The family 
of Mr. Fowles were all members of the Episcopal 
Church. Mr. Fowles left a deep impression on the 
southern parishes under his care which is not yet effaced. 
He wrote a small volume on Baptism, and a preface to 
Goode's Better Covenant. 

The Rev. W. O. Prentiss writes me that Bishop 
Stephen Elliott, and Rev. Dr. Pinckney were ordained 
with Mr. Fowles. Bishop Howe, of South Carolina, 
and Rev. J. H. Tillinghast of his Diocese have guided 
me to information in tracing the life of the Rev. Mr. 
Fowles. In the offering of the Church of the Crucifi- 
tion, published in 1850 by Willis P. Hazard, and pre- 
served at the Library, of the Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania I find an interesting missionary sketch by Mr. 
Fowles of a colored nurse who lived a Christian life, and 
died in the faith. 

In 1854 Rev. Dudley A. Tyng entered on the rector- 
ship of this church. A book entitled ''Stand up for 
Jesus," in allusion to his dying words, gives an account 
of his valuable life. This rallying cry that survived him 
displayed the character of his earthly work. After 
leaving the Epiphany the Church of the Covenant was 
organized by his zeal, though the building was not 
erected until after his lamented death. 

This rector was a true man, firm and courageous and 
honest. He honored his Divine Master in life, and 



214 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

glorified him in death. He was injured by an accident at 
his place in the country, near Conshohocken, on April 
13th, A.D., 1858, and died on the 19th, giving up his 
spirit to the Saviour whom he served. Prayers had 
ascended for him in the churches of this city, and there 
was great grief at his death. The Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association took proper action at his death, and 
asked the Rev. Dr. Kingston Goddard to preach a 
funeral sermon. They showed deep sorrow at his 
departure. 

The funeral was held in Concert Hall, where Mr. 
Tyng had officiated in the services of his infant church. 
A vast number of clergy and people assembled at the 
funeral. Bishop Mcllvaine, and Rev. Dr. Charles D. 
Cooper, and Rev. Dr. Kingston Goddard officiated. 
The great congregation sobbed aloud in their grief. 
The Bishop, who valued the deceased clergyman ''as a 
dear son," made a touching address commending his 
character. His first parish was in his Diocese, at 
Columbus, Ohio, and his second at Cincinnati. He was 
a devoted workman, anointed with the Spirit of God, 
and showing forth His grace, and souls were touched 
and drawn to God by him. He was blessed in dying 
in the Lord, and resting in Christ. The Bishop in giving 
this testimony exhorted the clergy to point men to 
Christ, as their dead friend and co-laborer had done. 
Dr. Newton testified to the dying grace that came to 
Mr. Tyng in his dying hour. Bishop Odenheimer and 
Dr. (afterward Bishop) Howe assisted in the funeral 
services. The burial -was at South Bergen, New Jersey, 
where Rev. Dr. Dyer officiated. At Christ Church, 
Cincinnati, Dr. Butler made an address concerning the 
death of its former rector. At the noon-day prayer- 
meeting in Jayne's Hall, Philadelphia, which had been 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. . 215 

dear to this clergyman, for two days his death scene was 
described by a clerical brother, while tears followed the 
narration. A clergymnn read the verses beginning : 

*' Stand up for Jesus ! Strengthened by His hand, 
Even I, though young, have ventured thus to stand. 
But soon cut down, as maim'd and faint I he. 
Hear, O my friends ! the charge with which I die : 
-Stand up for Jesus !" 

Awhile later than the funeral, Dr. Tyng preached a 
sermon commemorative of his son. 

Dudley A. Tyng was born January 12th, 1825, at a 
country parsonage in Prince George's County, Mary- 
land. As a scholar at St. Paul's Sunday-school, in 
Philadelphia, his father noticed his intense enjoyment in 
singing Bishop Heber's beautiful hymn, ''Brightest and 
Best of the Sons of the Morning." The lad was a 
grandson of Bishop Griswold and the spirit of his grand- 
father and of his father and his devoted mother shone 
out in his life. He had a precocious intellect, and at 
six read Latin authors. He graduated at the University 
of Pennsylvania. His fine character displayed itself in 
every relation of life. He felt called to a high religious 
life in boyhood. H^ became a student in the Theo- 
logical Seminary of Virginia, near Alexandria, and \vas 
cheerful and energetic in mission work there, and that 
School of the Prophets has long been renowned for its 
missionary spirit, and many foreign missionaries have 
gone forth from its halls to heathen lands. In 1846 he 
was ordained at Alexandria by Bishop Meade. The 
young clergyman assisted his father for eight months 
in New York, and went thence to labor in Columbus, 
Ohio, and thence to Charlestown, West Virginia, and 
thence to Cincinnati. His ministry was honored and 
successful. 



2l6 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

As he rode home from the city on the Sunday pre- 
ceding his fatal accident, he told his waiting wife of the 
sweet communion he had held with God in that evening 
ride, while she spoke of the early death of the devoted 
Summerfield, whose.memoir she had been reading, little 
thinking that in a few days she should be called to 
bend over the sick-bed of her own husband and witness 
his departure. When told by his father that he must 
die, he replied that he had rather be with Jesus than 
with his dearest earthly friends. His dying message to 
the clergy and his congregation was, " Let us all stand 
up for Jesus." When dying, he struck up the hymn 
" Rock of Ages," when those about him hesitated to do 
so in their sorrow, though they followed such a leader, 
and it was 'fitting that a song should close a life which 
was to be renewed in a land of sacred song. The dying 
clergyman addressed his wife and children tenderly, 
and gave them his parting kiss, and begged his father 
to kiss him, and then bade him a lasting good-night as 
when a child, tired of play, he had gone to his evening's 
rest. Later, when the name of father and wife failed to 
stir his failing n . -ers, that of Jesus brought joy and an 
acknowledg-i.- ■ of calm trust, as in the like case of 
Bishop ;^ "Viriclb;e, and he declared himself perfectly 
happy ir , ■-,i^-^ which had been his mother's dying 
testimon} 

Rev. Di. Kingston Goddard preached a funeral 
sermon to -over seven thousand persons. He dwelt on 
his perseverance, humility and forgiveness, and earnest- 
ness in the thought of death in addressing others when 
in full life himself, for he always loved to hold forth the. 
Cross of Christ. Dr. Goddard expressed the vv^ish, 
''May his death be the planting of a seed that shall 
spring up in a glorious harvest." 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 217 

Rev. H. N. Strong preached a sermon entitled a 
"Tribute to the Worthy Dead," at Peoria, Illinois, in 
St. Paul's Church, of which some of the Tyng family 
were members. The preacher declared that Dudley 
Tyng " Had not lived in vain, for his life was a gift to 
men. At his youthful feet the gray-haired sire listened 
and learned wisdom ; up to his high moral attainments, 
his compeers in years looked with earnest desires to 
emulate his worth ; and the lambs of his flock fed fear- 
lessly from his hand." 

Dudley Tyng was an earnest preacher, as an extract 
from his sermon on "The True Refuge in the Day of 
Calamity," which I will quote, indicates: "Shall the 
exceedingly great and tender love of Christ our Saviour 
be unavailing to win back our souls from the sins for 
which He died to deliver us ? Shall it be insufficient to 
attract the sinner from all earthly refuges to His own 
blood-stained cross ? " 

This clergyman was very energetic and earnest in his 
advocacy of the cause of temperance. He resigned 
this parish in 1856. 

The Rev. William Otis Prentiss assumed the rector- 
ship of the Epiphany in 1857. The late Francis Wells, 
in his "Sketch of Fifty Years" of parish life, states 
that this clergyman was a friend of Mr. Fowles, and that 
he was a preacher of remarkable power. His parish 
esteemed and loved him, and he served his Divine 
Master to good effect. At the close of a year of peace- 
ful happiness personal matters of obligation drew him 
back to South Carolina whence he had come. He 
wrote a beautiful letter to the vestry concerning his 
pleasant intercouse with them and the congregation. 
He now resides in Charleston, and is rector of Trinity 
Church, Edisto Island, St. James's Church, Santce, and 



2l8 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

Christ Church, Wiltown. He has kindly furnished 
information for my sketch of Mr. Fowles, one of his 
revered predecessors in this parish. 

The Rev. John W. Cracraft was elected to the rector- 
ship in December, 1858, and took up his work in 
January, 1859. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, 
in 1822, being of English and Scotch descent. He studied 
in Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, and the 
Theological Seminary at Gambler, Ohio, graduating at 
Gambler in 1846. 

Mr. Cracraft -was ordained a deacon by Bishop 
Mcllvaine, and entered on his labors at Mansfield, Ohio, 
organizing the parish, and building a fine brick church. 
In 1847 Bishop Mcllvaine ordained him to the priest- 
hood. He was in Peoria, Illinois, where he built and 
afterward enlarged a church, closing a successful rector- 
ship to organize the Church of the Ascension, Chicago. 
I recollect hearing him preach in Chicago, and consid- 
ering him earnest and impressive. He was afterward 
chaplain of Kenyon College, and rector of Harcourt 
parish, at Gambler. Many of the collegians were 
drawn to the Lord's service during his .ministry, and 
several became clergyman, among whom was the Rev. 
Charles Mcllvaine, the son the Bishop. 

In 1862 Mr. Cracraft resigned the Church of the 
Epiphany, and returned to Ohio. He has since been at 
Galesburg, Illinois, and Elyria, Ohio, and is now rector 
at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where the Lord has blessed 
his labors. He has written two volum^es, and several 
pamphlets of a religious character. 

In 1862 the Rev. Dr. Richard Newton became rector 
of the Epiphany. He has but lately gone from us, his 
character was made up of cheerfulness, faith and earn- 
estness. His quick step and bright eye and lively 




DK. RICHARD NEWTON, 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 219 

manner betokened perpetual youth in old age, and he 
quaffed freely of ''the river of life" which sustains life 
in apparent decay. He worked bravely to the end of 
life in useful writing and ministerial labor. He was 
plain and simple, but ardent, and saw Christ in every- 
thing as his facile pen delineated his thoughts for thous- 
ands to read. His beautiful sermon on ''The Romance 
of Revelation " shows how he exultingly saw the poor 
sinner raised from the dust to sit with princes by the 
grace of Christ. 

The Rev. W. W. Newton has prepared a touching 
and simple Memoir of his father, which is prefixed to 
the book of the Doctor's sermons entitled, "The Heatli 
in the Wilderness," that being the subject of the first 
sermon. This affords us means of giving details of the 
life of this rector, who for eighteen years ministered in 
this church. With good lay help the new rector paid a 
heavy debt which was a weight upon the parish. 

Dr. Newton was a trustee of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, where he had graduated, and edited the peri- 
odicals of the Sunday-school Union, and wrote books 
for children, while the American Bible Society and the 
Philadelphia Divinity School, and the Episcopal Hos- 
pital were cared for by him. He also journeyed and 
labored for the Evangelical Knowledge, American 
Church Missionary and Evangelical Education Societies. 
Bishops A. Lee, Johns and Eastburn, and Drs. Vinton 
and Stone were special friends of his. 

In 1870, Dr. Newton and Rev. Dr. Charles D. Cooper 
traveled in Europe and the Holy Land, and even in 
travel the indefatigable author kept his pen busy in the 
early morning. He loved to acquire and impart inform- 
ation, and it became the habit of his life. His Life of 
Christ for the Young was issued in numbers. Eighteen 



2 20 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

different languages spread abroad his books for children 
and in Paris, or Madrid, or Rome, or Siam, or Hindoo- 
stan, or China, or Japan, or Sweden, or Holland, you 
might behold children following the teaching of your 
rector, while the Dacota Indian, or the Zulu or Grebo, 
in Africa, read in his own tongue these Christian instruct- 
ions given with[life and power. His novelty and variety 
in addresses to children were remarkable, and his earnest 
manner fastened the thoughts. Spurgeon called him 
the "Prince of children's preachers." One has classed 
Dr. Newton's sermons for children with Bunyan's Pil- 
grim's Progress, in their power to interest the little 
folks. The wealth of illustration of this writer was the 
result of much study and care. 

Dr. Newton was hospitable, and also very charitable 
to the needy. In summer vacations he loved to secure 
the company of his friend, Rev. John Wilson, who was 
a fellow-pupil at the Manual Labor Training School, in 
Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, under the care of Rev. 
Dr. John B. Clemson. 

In 1 88 1 Dr. Newton resigned the rectorship of this 
church, as the mental strain of work had proved too 
great for endurance in his writing and his parochial 
labors. He was made Rector Emeritus, but in 1882 
resigned that position to take up his final rectorship at 
the Church of the Covenant. As he had held the parish 
once occupied by Dr. Tyng so now he assumed one 
which Dudley A. Tyng, another Epiphany rector, had 
once had in charge. Here for five years he did a good 
work, toiling to the end of life. 

The son of Dr. Newton well makes the morning and 
evening prayer and communion with God elements 
in his success in Christian work. To his trust in God, 
as he journeyed on to appear before Him in Zion, must 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 22 1 

be added that faithful system of work which could allow 
no waste of precious time. 

The beloved wife of the Doctor died at their Chestnut 
Hill home, in 1887, and he soon followed her to the land 
where there are no separations. He preached a sermon 
in memorial of the wife, on " Equality with Angels, the 
Christian's Portion for the Future," and one more ser- 
mon at his celebrated children's service, and then those 
eloquent lips ceased to utter the truths of God in public 
with the exception of some burning words in favor of 
the Unity of Christendom, before the Church Unity 
Society, at St. Stephen's Church. One month from the 
day of his wife's funeral his soul left the body to be 
"wath the Lord." In his last sufferings in his study, 
his prayer and communion with God grew stronger as 
the flesh grew weaker. Old parishioners conversed 
lovingly with the dying man concerning the years that 
were past. The good pastor's last act was to pray earn- 
estly for the present and absent members of his family 
by name, and then he slept on earth, to awake in glory. 
After death he lay among his precious books in his 
library, but he had now learned to read in a language 
which needs no such toilsome aids to thought, and the 
equailty wath angels of which he had just preached was 
his in prospect. The funeral passed from Chestnut Hill 
to the Church of the Covenant, on the 28th of May, 
A.D., 1887, and the burial \vas at Laurel Hill. The 
familiar black cap was on his head, as he lay in his 
coffin, while he was arrayed in his susplice, and a copy 
of his book, "The Rills from the Fountain of Life," 
was in his hand. At the funeral, the Rev. Dr. Benja- 
min Watson read a poem on a visit to the tomb of Dr. 
Arnold, of Rugby, written by his son, showing the 
power of the remembrance of a noble life. 



222 THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 

In family and church relations, Dr. Xewton was ever 
faithful, and when his pure life closed many were ready 
to declare that his work had been well done, but the 
Master's commendation was better than the praise of men. 

Dr. Newton had chosen his last resting place at 
Laurel Hill, on the bank of the beautiful Schuylkill, and 
there he rests by the side of his wife, waiting the time 
when Christ shall call his pegple home. A granite 
block, with its blessed cross, marks the graves of these 
servants of God, who are pronounced blessed by the 
Spirit as among those happy ones who have died ''in 
the Lord." Would that we all might 'know the power 
of such words, and that they might befit our epitaph. 

Your present rector, Rev. George Herbert Kinsolv- 
ing, is the seventh rector of the parish. He came here 
in A.D., 1 88 1, having then resigned the rectorship of 
St. John's Church, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His Christian 
name recalls one of the purest clergyman who ever 
adorned the annals of the church of England, while the 
father of your rector is a clergyman in Virginia, and 
one brother is rector of Christ Church, Brooklyn, while 
another is a missionary in Brazil. Your rector w^as 
educated in the University of Virginia, and at the The- 
ological Seminary at Alexandria, in the same State. He 
has continued the good work of your former rectors, and 
the pastoral reports show the varied labors of laymen 
and laywomen to aid him in advancing the interests of 
the parish. Give him an abundance of kindly words 
and helpful deeds, for the clergyman needs such assist- 
ance in his struggles against sin and Satan. Other 
parishes appreciate his earnest and faithful preaching, as 
the many invitations to preach among them indicate. 
May he be still more successful in building up the 
kingdom of Christ in your midst 



THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY. 223 

We have been commemorating the clergy in this 
discourse, for they were shining lights, but the laity are 
also commanded to let their light shine. It is an indi- 
vidual duty to let your light shine in your house, and 
thus to glorify your Father in heaven. The angel said 
unto Daniel the prophet, ''They that be wise shall shine 
as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn 
many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever;" 
and so this divine and heavenly light will shine more 
brightly in the perfect day. 



14 



2 24 BISHOPS OF DELAWARE. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Bishops of Delaware. 

RT. rev. ALFRED LEE, S.T.D., LL.D. 

THE sketches of St. Andrew's Church, Wilming- 
ton, and Grace Church, Brandywine Hundred, 
in this volume show that Bishop White and 
Bishop H. U. Onderdonk performed Episcopal duty in 
Delaware before it had its own bishop. 

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, of April ist, 
1887, states that Bishop Lee was born in Cambridge, 
Mass., Sept. 9th, 1807, in the mansion which is the 
subject of Longfellow's poem, ''The Old House by the 
Lindens." He graduated at Harvard University, and 
practiced law in New London, and afterward studied 
theology in the General Theological Seminary in New 
York, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Brownell, 
in Trinity Church, Norwalk, Conn., and priest by the 
same bishop in Christ Church, Hartford, Conn. PJe 
became rector of Calvary Church, Rockdale, Pa., in 
1838, and was called from this parish bordering on 
Delaware, to the Episcopate of Delaware in 1841, by an 
election held at Georgetown, Bishop Onderdonk being 
present. He was consecrated in St. Paul's Chapel, 
New York, by Bishop Griswold, (who was then the 
presiding bishop), R. C. Moore, Chase, Brownell, H. U. 
Onderdonk, Meade and Mcllvaine. Bishop Lee was 
the youngest of the twenty-one bishops of the House 
of Bishops. In 1884, when Bishop Smith died, he 
became the Senior Bishop in date of consecration. 



BISHOPS OF DELAWARE. 227 

He put forth volumes on the Lives of St. Peter and 
St. John, and a Memoir of Miss Susan Allibone, and a 
book entitled ''Voice in the Wilderness," and another 
called ''Eventful Nights of Bible History." 

Bishop Lee attended the Lambeth Conference in 
England in 1878, where he received much attention. He 
died in Wilmington, April 12th, 1887, in his 80th year,_^ 
and the 45th of his Episcopate. The Churchman^ (of 
April 23d), traces his ancestry to England, his grand- 
mother being Mary Pitt of the family of the two noted 
statesmen. His father was an English midshipman 
associated with Nelson and Collingwood. Bishop Lee 
married Julia White, daughter of Elihu White, of Hart- 
ford, Conn. The degree of S.T. D. was given him by 
Trinity College, Hartford, and Hobart College, Geneva, 
while Harvard University granted him the title of D.D., 
and Delaware College that of LL.D. In 1863 the 
Bishop visited Hayti to perform Episcopal duty, and in 
1874 assisted in consecrating Dr. Holly as Bishop of 
Hayti. In 1875 he visited Mexico for ordination and 
confirmation, and took a deep interest in that mission 
work. Bishop Lee was a fine scholar and a devoted 
Christian and a patient worker in Christ's vineyard. His 
dying hour was solaced by the Psalm declaring that the 
Lord was his Shepherd, and the soul commended to 
God went to " dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

Bishops W^illiams, H. C. Potter, Whitaker, M. A. 
DeW. Howe, Scarborough, Peterkin, William Boone, 
Paret and W^alker, and a host of clergy and laity 
attended the funeral of the good Bishop at St. Andrew's 
Church on the i8th of April. 

Bishop Howe's touching address is given in substance 
in TJie CJi2L7xhy of April 30th, in which he painted the 
young Bishop at his consecration when Dr. Wainwright, 



2 28 BISHOPS OF DELAWARE. 

afterward Bishop of New York, holding the Cfrdinal for 
Bishop Griswold, the consecrator ^o read. He described 
also his faithful life. In the same paper Rev. B. J. 
Douglass well notes the Bishop's scholarship, gentle- 
manly and fatherly bearing, love of nature and Christian 
purity. 

RT. REV. LEIGHTON COLEMAN, S.T.D., LL.D, 

Bishop Coleman was born in Philadelphia, May 3rd, ; 
1837, his father being the Rev. John Coleman, D.D., 
for many years rector of Trinity Church, in the same 
city, and editor of the Banner of the Cross. 

Educated at the Episcopal Academy and at the Gen- 
eral Theological Seminary, New York, from which latter 
institution he graduated in June, 1861. 

On July ist, i860, he was ordered deacon by Bishop 
Alonzo Potter, in St. James's Church, Philadelphia, and 
during his senior year at the seminary was missionary 
to the public institutions of New York on Blackwell's 
and Randall's Islands. He became the first rector of 
St. Luke's Church, Bustleton, Phila., in which church 
he was advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Alonzo 
Potter on May 15th, 1862. From Advent Sunday 1863 to 
1866 he was rector of St. John's Church, Wilmington, 
Delaware, From Advent Sunday 1866 to 1874 he was 
rector of St. Mark's Church, Mauch Chunk, Pa. He 
then removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he was rector of 
'Trinity Church until 1879, when, on account of his 
wife's health he went abroad, and remained there until 
1887. While in Europe, he was constantly engaged in || 
ministerial work, and was for several years the Organ- 
izing Secretary for the Diocese of Oxford of the Church 
of England Temperance Society. In 1887, he became 
rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Sayre, Pa., 




BISHOP COLEMAN. 
(By permission of James Pott, publisher.) 



BISHOPS OF DELAWARE. 233 

remaining there until he was consecrated on St. Luke's 
Day, 1888, Bishop of Delaware. In 1875, he was 
chosen first Bishop of Fond du Lac but decHned 
the election. Received the honorary degree of A.M. 
from Trinity College in 1865, of S.T.D. from Racine 
College in 1875, and of LL.D. from Hobart College in 
1887. In July 1861 he was married to Frances E., oldest 
child of Alexis I. du Pont, of Delaware. 

Bishop Coleman resides at Bishopstead, which was 
the abode of Bishop Lee. It lies on the Brandywine 
Creek in a beautiful situation. The Chapel of the Good 
Shepherd has been added by the munificence of a lay- 
man. It was consecrated on Easter Tuesday, 1890, 
(April 8th), Bishop Paret,' of Maryland, preaching the 
sermon from Exodus, 28: 28-29. ''Every Evening" gave 
an interesting account of the service, and how the 
Bishop showed that Israel's worship pointed to the- 
Christian Church, and the work of Christ. 

The chapel is lined with glazed brick, and has gothic 
windows. The slate roof is surmounted by a spire with 
a bell. The oak furniture, and English Cathedral glass, 
and Bishop's seat and altar, and the credence-table in 
memory of Bauduy Simmons, and the paneling of the 
altar painted by Dr. Alexander C. Stuart, representing 
saints and Christ, the ''King of saints" add to the beauty 
of this architectural gem. The altar commemorates 
Bishop Seabury and Bishops White and II. U. Onder- 
donk, while a brass tablet honors Bishop Lee. The 
altar-cross keeps up the memory of Bishop Coleman's 
parents, and the bronze candle-sticks Mrs. Coleman's 
parents, and the vases Miss Mary J. Bradford. Tlie 
Standard of the Cross notes these facts. 



234 EARLY CLERGY OF DELA\YARE. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Early Clergy of DELA^YARE.'^•' 

THE Historical Collections of Bishop Perry relat- 
ing to the American Colonial Church contain 
one volume on Delaware. The Rev. Dr. Francis^ 
L. Hawks, the Historiographer of the American Church, 
was sent to England to secure copies and originals of 
records which have been "carefully followed" as is 
stated in Bishop Perry's worlc, which may be seen in 
the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 
The references in this book add much to its value, and 
show the pains which the distinguished writer has taken 
in his task. I shall select and condense this narrative 
as to the earliest days of the church in this diocese, and 
the Bishop says the early writings **give minutely a 
vivid description of the growth both of the outward 
fabric and the Spiritual Temple of the Church in Dela- 
ware." The reports of the Missionaries of the Vener- 
able Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts are the basis of the volume, and we can 
never be too grateful to England for her fostering care 
of her distant sons, and we ought to return the favor by 
sending out missionaries to places yet destitute of the 
blessed Gospel. 



*A lecture delivered before the Church Club of Delaware 
composed of laymen, under the Presidency of E. Tatnall Warner, 
Frank G. du Pont being Secretar>'. 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 235 

In A.D., 1706, Rev. Thomas Crawford reports from 
Dover Hundred, in Kent County, that he is gathering 
Quakers into the church, baptizing whole families of 
them. His church was full on Sundays. 

He visited Sussex County, and *' preached several 
times where," he writes, *' I find a people mighty civil, 
and a great many well inclined to the Church," and the 
gentlemen, at his request, asked the Bishop of London, 
who was in charge of this country, "for a minister." 

Mr. Crawford wrote Rev. Mr. Stubbs that he preached 
at *' Captain Hil's house, then at Lewistown, and on a 
third time in another place." The people were about 
to build a church. " Fifty or sixty miles riding" were 
then needed to reach the point from the clergyman's 
home. The residents of Lower Delaware knew what 
long drives meant for generations before the railways 
came, and good Bishop Lee used to drive his two ponies 
around on his early visitations. He resided at first in 
Georgetown. 

Mr. Crawford said that he lived " in the country where 
no ships come, and under a hundred miles scarce can 
have a letter delivered or put on board of any vessel." 
Compare the daily papers now running every morning 
into the country districts. This earnest missionary 
held services in three places regularly on Sundays. He 
sometimes taught the Negroes at the church porch. 
In the old country let us remember that the church 
porch was a place where early schools were held, and 
true education should lead into the Church of God. 

In 1708 Rev. Thomas Jenkins writes from N^w 
Castle, Pa. In Penn's day Delaware was a part of 
Pennsylvania, though any one who reads the early 
history of the province can see that there was much 
friction in the endeavor to make "The three lower 



236 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

counties," as Delaware was styled, work with the three 
upper counties of Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester, 
which then constituted Pennsylvania, Mr. Jenkins was 
eleven weeks in sailing from Portsmouth, England, to 
Virginia, where a boat was hired to go to Bohemia 
Landing, in Maryland. Colonel Evans, the Governor of 
Pennsylvania, was at Bohemia when the missionary 
arrived. New Castle is described by this English 
clergyman as "formerly a place of great trade," still 
owning some vessels, and mostly inhabited by merchants. 
There were hundreds of church people in town and 
country. Mr. Jenkins died the next year. 

In 1710-11 Rev. Robert Sinclare is in charge of " New 
Castle on Delaware," as he prettily writes it. He notes 
the coming into the church of over twenty Quakers, 
and many others, so that the Holy Sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper received more' worthy partakers. The 
church at New Castle he calls "a stately fabrick." He 
returned to England in 1712. 

In 1 7 13 Rev. Jacob Henderson was missionary at 
New Castle. He became a commissary in Maryland, 
and was prominent. 

In 1729 White Clay Creek Parish, known as St. 
James's, states that it contains sixty or seventy Church of 
England, families, and is repairing its church. Rev. Mr. 
Campbell had served them for a time. They ask for a 
missionary. 

In 1732 Rev. William Becket states that he has 
instructed over a thousand people, and ridden so far 
that two horses were needed to further his work. He 
preached and prayed and catechised, and administered 
the Holy Communion and Holy Baptism '^with good 
success," as he expresses it. 

He calls Lewes "a. small seaport on the mouth of the 
great river Delaware, where all European goods are 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 237 

generally sold at near ^200 per cent, advance on Ster- 
ling," and remarks that the clergyman was often obliged 
charitably " to maintain shipwrecked and distressed 
people," as well as gentlemen and strangers, specially 
those *' of the Communion of the Church of England." 

In 1739 ^^- reports an agreement to finish the interior 
of the church at Lewes, which has stood unfinished 
seventeen years. Hum.phreys' History of the Propaga- 
tion Society notices the work of this zealous missionary. 
Rev. Dr. David Humphreys was the secretary of the 
society. The diligent Mr. Becket, in 1721 notes the 
finishing of the Lewes church, and of two country 
churches also. The buildings could not contain the 
hearers, and the people readily rode twenty miles to 
church. In one year Mr. Becket baptized eighty-two, 
twelve being adults; and in one day, in Kent County, 
where they had no minister for their new church, he 
baptised twenty-one, six being adults. The people were 
zealous. 

Major Patrick Gordon, Governor of Pennsylvania, 
describes Mr. Becket as "a man of sober good charac- 
ter." While Lord Baltimore and the heirs of Penn were 
contending about the ownership of Delaware, Becket 
suggests that many people think it belongs to the Crown, 
and that his Majesty should grant it to the Society to 
carry on its work, and that there should be a suffragan 
bishop. This would indeed have given the Propagation 
Society sufficient means for active work. 

Mr. Becket was appointed missionary by the society 
in 1 72 1, having the whole of Sussex County under his 
care, being fifty miles long, and twenty broad. He was 
a diligent and successful laborer in the vineyard of the 
Lord. The magistrates and gentlemen thanked him for 
reforming blasphemers and the drunkard by his faithful 



238 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

ministry. There was an increase of those who loved 
and honored the church, and were blessed by her 
Holy Sacraments and heavenly worship. Three years 
after he commenced his work three churches had been 
built, not one of which could hold the crowd of wor- 
shipers who came up to the House of the Lord. Five 
years later a fourth church arose in the forest. In 1741 
he had been twenty years at work, and his people were 
steadfast. The next year, when his labors were closing, 
one of his last letters to the Society speaks of his four 
churches as full on Sundays and holidays, and in sum- 
mer, when they could not hold the congregations, he 
was *' often obliged to preach under the green trees for 
room, for shade, and for fresh air," as he strikingly ex- 
presses it. This is noted in the valuable History of the 
Church of England in the Colonies, by the Rev. James S. 
M. Anderson, one of the Queen's chaplains. True Christ- 
ianity increased under Becket, and his work was abiding. 
Watson's Annals of Philadelphia refer to a manuscript 
book by Mr. Becket, which states that he was born in 
Cheshire, and went from London to Lewistown. This 
clergyman wrote several poems. Watson also notes 
that Deputy Governor Thomas Lloyd, of Pennsylvania, 
sent his youngest daughters from Philadelphia to Lewis- 
town to finish their school life in an early period of the 
history of this country. This shows a cultured institu-. 
tion in the little town. 

In 1733 Rev. George Frazer writes that Dover has 
only "about fifteen or sixteen families" in the place. 
He preached in the Court House, and a subscription was 
started **to build a new brick church." The old 
wooden one was in a ruinous state. In 1734 he states 
that the walls of the church are completed, and the 
church would have been covered if. the one who under- 
took the work had not died, 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 239 

In 1740 Rev. Arthur Usher reports an increasing 
congregation at Dover, and the finishing of the church, 
and the beginning of ''two wooden chapels." 

In 1745 he notes the flourishing condition of the 
Sussex County Churches under his care. On Sundays 
they- were fully attended. He serv^ed four churches, 
officiating at Dover once a month. He labored twelve 
years in Delaware. 

In 1748 the Dover Church wardens refer to the death 
of Rev. Mr. Morris. Some time before he had been a 
Missionary in Connecticut, and he is noticed in Rev. 
Dr. Beardsley's History of the Connecticut Church. 

Rev. Thomas Bluett, of Dover, in 1748, mentions a 
sickness so that two, three, or four, or more would die 
every day ; and the church-yard would see from one to 
two' or three daily burials. A Public Fast was observed, 
and the clergyman preached to the greatest audience he 
had seen since he came to. the place. A rumor that 
Don Pedro, a famous Havana Privateer, would again 
infest the coasts with many vessels also caused much 
terror. 

In 1 761 the Rev. Mr. Inglis, afterward Bishop of 
Nova Scotia, reports from Dover that St. Peter's 
Church at Duck Creek is "too small. for the congrega- 
tion," so that many could not get within it. The people 
intended to replace the wooden building with a larger 
one of brick. Duck Creek was fifteen miles from 
Dover. The church at Mispillion had been enlarged. 

In 1 76 1 Rev. yEneas Ross, son of Rev. George Ross, 
in writing from New Castle, describes St. James's 
Chapel, Stanton, as out of repair, and states that the 
congregation proposes to build a new church at New- 
port, expecting one missionary to serve both places. 
In 1765 Bishop Inglis says that he had persuaded the 



2 40 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

Congregation at Cedar Creek Church to build a new 
church, as the old wooden one was decayed. They 
planned a brick church with galleries. 

On the fifth of April, 1766, occurred a sad event 
which was long remembered in the history of our 
mission. Owing to the want of a bishop in this country, 
Rev. Messrs. Giles and Wilson went to England for 
ordination, and in returning were drowned off the coast 
of Delaware on that day. Mr. Wilson was a nephew of 
another missionary, the Rev. Hugh Neil. In writing 
from New York in 1766, Bishop Inglis mentions their 
sad death. The Dovej' Mission was to have been divided 
between them, making two separate missions out of one. 

In 1767 Rev. Dr. Samuel ]\Iagaw reports 'Marge, reg- 
ular and attentive" congregations at Dover. Dr. 
]\Iagaw was afterward rector of St. Paul's Church, Phil- 
adelphia. In 1771 this gentleman writes, " The mem- 
bers of our Church are more numerous than those of 
any other denomination in this county." He speaks of 
their piety and zeal. According to Watson's account 
from Becket's manuscript, in 1728, the church people in 
Sussex County largely exceeded in number those of 
other religious beliefs. 

In 1773 Rev. Mr. Lyon writes that he is to leave 
Sussex and go to Virginia. He had baptized many 
children and a number of adults. Colored people were 
among those baptized. In 1729 Rev. Walter Hacket 
took charge of Apoquiniminck. He " appears to have 
officiated quietly and successfully," according to Bishop 
Perry's account. Humphreys and Anderson notice his 
work, and Dr. Dorr, in his Early History of the Church, 
appended to his History of Christ Church, Philadelphia, 
quotes Humphreys about him. He was inducted into 
a Maryland parish. The clergy often went to Maryland 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 24I 

from Pennsylvania in early days. The establishment of 
the Church- there gave them better support. There 
were no bishops at hand to arrange such matters. Rev. 
George Craig thought that there should be two bishops, 
one for our American colonies and the other for Canada. 
The case of Rev. Philip Reading is a representative 
one in the Revolutionary days and other English clergy 
had like experiences. In war the strongest passions 
are rpused, but now we can realize that many good 
men felt bound by their ordination oaths, and honestly 
refrained from advancing what they thought a rebellion. 
At the Convention of 1760 Mr. Reading reports from 
Apoquiniminck, now Middletown, that the Church of 
England congregation was ''prior to any other religious 
denomination whatever." The people were "remark- 
able for a regular devout behaviour in time of Divine 
Service. The ordinances of religion were in great 
esteem among them." The Liturgy was greatly valued, 
"and the celebration of the Lord's Supper attended by 
a good number of devout, serious communicants." In 
1765 he expects a new church to be built. A family 
has given ground for a church and graveyard, and a 
gentleman has promised to oversee the building, and 
over five hundred pounds were subscribed in a few 
days, which Mr. Reading thought would be increased. 
For a time this missionary had charge of St. Augustine 
parish on Bohemia Manor, as was the case in later times 
in the rectorship of Rev. Robert L. Goldsborough. 
That parish is in Cecil County, Maryland. In 1760 Mr. 
Reading had reported to Archbishop Seeker. He wrote 
a long and touching letter to the Secretary of the Propa- 
gation Society on August 25th, 1776, as to his troubles 
in the new government, as he was notable in conscience 
to violate his ordination vows, and omit to pra}' for the 



2 42 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

King and Royal Family. He describes the weeping 
of the congregation when he told them that the church 
would be shut for six weeks, and then he "would 
administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." The 
church was accordingly closed. The faithful parson 
busied himself with the Catechetical and parochial 
offices of his mission. He intended to be diligent in 
these things. He had labored thirty years for the society. 
The Protestant Episcopal Historical Society Collections 
state that this worthy man was licensed as missionary 
for Pennsylvania, on the seventh of April, 1746. In 
1777 the Fulham Register records him as "dead." The 
weary one was at rest. The clergy list of the General 
Convention Manuscripts of 1777 ^^so marks him as 
" dead." He removed to Maryland. The Rev. Mr. 
Hawkins's Notices of English Missions has some 
account of Mr. Reading. In Dr. Dorr's Christ Church 
we observe that on May 20th, 1761, the minutes in 
Bishop White's papers show that Mn Reading was one 
of the twelve clergy who appeared at the annual con- 
vention of the clergy in Philadelphia. He was appointed 
with the president of the convention, Dr. William 
Smith, to wait on the Governor, who assured them of 
"his countenance and protection at all times." Mr. 
Reading was appointed as the preacher of the next 
annual sermon before the Convention, and Rev. William 
Sturgeon, the assistant minister of Christ Church, Phil- 
adelphia, was his substitute. Rev. Mr. Inglis of Dover, 
was also at this convention. Christ Church was then 
the only Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Twelve 
clergy were a large number for that day, as Dr. Dorr 
says, but now four dioceses exist in what was then one 
organization, as Delaware was joined with Pennsylvania. 
Let us thank God and take courage. 



' . EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 243 

In 1 781 Rev. Samuel Tingley, of Sussex County, 
mourns over his dire troubles in Revolutionary times, 
as one loyal to England. He remarks that several 
thousand baptisms have taken place in his mission dur- 
ing the six years preceding his last report, including 
''many blacks from sixty years to two months old." 

The Rev. George Ross finds a fitting notice in the 
invaluable Annals of the Episcopal Clergy by the inde- 
fatigable Rev. Dr. Sprague, in a note to the sketch of 
the Rev. Evan Evans, the laborious rector of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia. He was sent by the Society to 
New Castle, Delaware, (then Pennsylvania), in 1705. 
He afterward had charge of Chester. He went to Eng- 
land, and in returning was taken prisoner by a French 
man-of-war in i7ii,and carried to Brest, stripped of his 
clothes and inhumanly treated. After his release he 
returned to Chester, and afterward to New Castle. He 
went with the Provincial Governor, Sir William Keith, 
through Kent and Sussex, and in a week baptized one 
hundred and two persons. The remainder of his life 
was spent in New Castle. In 1752 he wrote the society 
that he was in the forty-third year of his mission, and 
the seventy-third of his life and in poor health, and this 
might be his last address to the society, whose favors he 
heartily acknowledged, begging pardon for failings, and 
blessing God for the services which he had been by 
His grace permitted to perform in propagating Chris- 
tianity according to the worship of the Church of Eng- 
land. It had lately pleased God to call to Himself his 
worthy servant to receive his reward for his pious 
labors to the great loss of the church at New Castle, as 
the Society Reports for 1754 and 1755 declare, so he did 
not livQ long after that letter was written. The reports 
of Mr. Ross show that many places needed the "ministr\' 



2 44 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

of the Word," and there were few missionaries, so 
that the v/orkers were in danger of exhaustion in endur- 
ing the heat of the day, and the necessary travels. The 
harvest was indeed great. The Church increased 
wonderfully in opposition. When the friends left their 
own body they generally came to the church mission- 
aries for baptisms, not to dissenters. They still love our 
quiet ways, even our bench of bishops has been re- 
inforced from that quarter. 

Mr. Reading endeavored to promote family prayer. 
He used to visit families on Sunday evenings, and hold 
service, and recommend the master of the family to 
continue the custom. The missionary would make 
practical remarks on the Second Lesson. Dissenters 
were drawn to these services. 

Mr. Reading claimed to be loyal to King George. 
Mr. Humphreys and himself were at one time the only 
missionaries in Pennsylvania, as Mr. Talbot was *'of a' 
distinct government," being at Burlington, New Jersey. 
Governor Keith commends ]\Ir. Ross's " capacity, pious 
exemplary life, and great industry." Governor P. 
Gordon wrote to the Bishop of London that he was "a 
very sober, good man." This devoted missionary finds 
notice in Bishop Perry's Historical Collections on Mary- 
land, as well as in those of Delaware. His son, yEneas 
Ross, was rector of Trinity Church, Oxford, Phila- 
delphia, and afterward succeeded Aaron Cleveland, an 
ancestor of Bishop Coxe, as rector of New Castle. 

The Rev. Charles Inglis has been mentioned as pres- 
ent at a Philadelphia Convention. The plaint of Mr. 
Thomas Barton, a faithful Pennsylvania missionary, at 
his isolation indicates the need of such gatherings when 
"as iron sharpeneth iron" friends excite each other to 
good works. Mr. Inglis held Dover Mission which 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 245 

covered Kent County, and he served three churches. 
The church at Dover had been repaired handsomely ; 
and the churches wsre crowded on Sundays, and people 
constantly asked for the tracts of the society. The 
number of communicants increased. Sprague's Annals 
gives us the means of sketching the life of this mission- 
ary. That refers to Dr. Berrian's History of Trinity 
Church, New York, and is enriched by a manuscript 
from Judge Halliburton, Rev. Charles Inglis was the 
son of Rev. Archibald Inglis of Glen and Kilcarr, Ire- 
land. He was born about 1733. His grandfather, and 
it is believed, his great-grandfather, were ministers of 
the Established Church. This descendant of a priestly 
race came to America early in life, and taught school in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He had been ordained by the 
Bishop of London. His work at Dover was commenced 
in 1 759. The church there was much invigorated by him. 
He married Miss Vining, who died in 1764. In 1765 he 
became assistant to the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, rector of 
Trinity Church, New York, and Catechist to the 
Negroes. In six years in Delaware he baptized seven 
hundred and fifty-six children, and twenty-three adults. 
The communicants were more than doubled. 

The University of Oxford gave Mr. Inglis the Doctor- 
ate in Divinity. In 1776 Trinity Church was burned in 
a fire which broke out in the city, while this clergyman, 
was connected with the parish. Dr. Auchmuty died in 
1777, and Mr. Inglis was chosen rector. The vestry 
speak of him as, " universally esteemed for his exemplary 
life." The Bishop of London notes his "eminent 
abilities," and piety. In taking the rectorship of Trinity 
Church afterthe fire he laid his hands on the ruined walls, 
thus strikingly assuming his duty. Bishop Coxe sings 
of the demolished and rebuilt church : 
15 



246 EARLY CLERGY OF DELA\VARE. 

"And so till good Queen Anna reign'd, 

It was a heathen sward : 
But then they made its virgin turf 

An altar to the Lord. 
With holy roof they covered it ; 

And when Apostles came, 
They claimed, for Christ, its battlements, 

And took it, in God's Name." 

When the stones had risen from the dust, the 
foundations laid "with sapphires," he thus salutes the 
new church, which still stands to the glory of God : 

'* Dear cross ! hold fast thy height in air : 

Stand ever wide, blest door ! 
And ever crowd, ye faithful, there, 

High, lowly, rich and poor ! 
Sweet bells ! ring ever your glad sound. 

And let its message be 
Ho ! ye that thirst — here Christ is found. 

And here His home is free." 

As the Rev. Mr. Inglis was a royalist he resigned 
Trinity Church in 1783, and soon afterward went to 
Nova Scotia where thousands of royalists, including 
many of his frends, had gone. He became the Bishop 
of Nova Scotia in 1787, being the first Colonial Bishop 
of the English Church. At first Canada and New 
Brunswick were also under his care. He died at 
Halifax, in 181 6, being about eighty-two years old. 
His second wife was Miss Creek, daughter of John 
Creek, of New York. One of her sons, John Inglis, 
succeeded his father as Bishop of Nova Scotia. Hon. 
Chief Justice Brenton Halliburton married the- oldest 
daughter of Bishop Charles Inglis, while the youngest 
daughter married Rev. George Pidgeon, rector of 
Frederlckton, and afterwards of St. John's, New Bruns- 
wick. The Bishop published sermons on the deaths of 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 247 

Rev. Doctors Ogilvie and Auchmuty. In St. Paul's 
Church, Halifax, there are monuments to both the 
bishops. The son erected the one to his father, recount- 
ing his success in church work. Judge Halliburton 
describes the' elder bishop as having an intelligent 
countenance, and of 'Might and active" figure. His 
manners were gentlemanly, and he was cheerful, and a 
good conversationalist. He was fond of his library, 
and delighted to instruct his children. In winter eve- 
nings he would read from Prideaux, and other " instruct- 
ive authors." That old-fashioned custom of reading 
aloud was useful ; would that it might come into use 
again. 

The Bishop was powerful as a preacher, and severe 
upon indifference. He enforced Christian doctrine with 
energy, and insisted on good works as a result of faith. 
As the first bishop of a British colony he had peculiar 
difficulties, which he prudently met with patience, im- 
pressing his character on his diocese. He had labored at 
one time as a Missionary among the Mohawk Indians, 
finding in Sir William Johnson a counsellor and aider, 
as I find noted from Anderson's History of the English 
Colonial Missions. He went to England in 1783, and 
four years after was consecrated Bishop of Nova Scotia. 
Of late Dr. Courtney has been called from work in the 
United States to the Episcopate of Nova Scotia. 

The father of Rev. Dr. E. Y. Higbee, of Trinity 
Church, New York, was at one time, rector of St. 
George's, Dagsboro. Rev. Nathan Kingsbury followed 
him and kept a young ladies' school at Georgetown, 
and officiated at St. George's Chapel, Indian River Hun- 
dred, and at St. Peter's, Lewistown. He instructed the 
people thoroughly in church principles. After the death 
of his second wife, Ann Burton, he returned to New 



248 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

York, where his children lived. Rev. Charles E. 
Pleasants followed him. This amiable gentleman was 
much beloved. Lewes and St. George's Chapel were 
under his care. After Rev. John Linn McKim, who 
succeeded Mr. Pleasants, resigned. Rev. John Reynolds 
took up work in Sussex County. He had been an 
English Wesleyan, and was of large size, and an earnest 
and excitable preacher, drawing crowds to church. Rev. 
Mr. Whitesides, who married a sister of Dr. Klapp, of 
Philadelphia, officiated for a time in Sussex County. 
The Rev. Walter E. Franklin, who lived at Georgetown, 
made a pleasant impression on his flock. He was aiter- 
ward rector at Newark. 

In reading the reports of the early English mission- 
aries, the work among the Negroes occupies. an import- 
ant place, and Rev. Dr. Childs had a special monthly 
service for the colored people at Lewes. Bishop Lee 
took much interest in the work at St. Andrew's among ■ 
this class; would that the diocese could in some way 
have an organized effort to reach them. Rev. Gideon 
J. Burton, the descendant of Rev. Mr. Cotton, a Church 
of England missionary to Accomac County, Virginia, 
has given me some notes to guide these reminiscences 
of Sussex County. 

Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely once«^told me of Mount 
Moriah Church, Black Swamp, where a graveyard 
remained to mark the site of a church. These old sites 
should be marked with a stone cross that the passer-by 
might breathe a prayer, and think of bygone days as he 
looked on the symbol of salvation. In summer time a 
service should be held annually at such spots, like the 
open air meetings of Bishop Lay, of Easton. and, per- 
haps, through the thin vail between earth and Paradise, 
the clergy and laity of the elder day might look down 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 249 

and join in the worship, thankful they were not forgotten. 
The graves of the old churchyards should be faithfuly 
guarded, especially those of the clergy. In the advance 
of population perhaps the old sites may again be found 
fit places for cJiurches or chapels, and the children 
praise God where their fathers lifted up their voices in 
humble adoration and devout thanksgiving. 

The Rev. John Leighton McKim writes me that St. 
Paul's Church, in Georgetown was built during the 
incumbency of Rev. William L. Gibson, though the 
church was dedicated on St. Paul's Day, in 1806 by Rev. 
Hamilton Bell. In 1844 a new brick church was 
consecrated, which had been built under the rectorship 
of Rev. John Linn KcKim, the father of the writer, who 
is now rector of his father's former parish. The last- 
named building was beautifully rebuilt, in Gothic style 
with a tower, in the rectorship of Rev. Benjamin Doug- 
lass in 1 88 1. Mr. Douglass also erected a chapel. 
In the rectorship of Rev. James C. Kerr, in 1885, the 
interior of the church was improved, and a pipe organ 
procured. The Re^. John Foreman is one of the rectors 
named who has not received notice in this sketch. In 
1868 Rev. Charles D. Allen held the parish a year in 
connection with Lewes. 

Dr. J. Thomas Scharf's History of Delaware contains 
interesting information as to the Sussex County Churches 
in the second volume, while the Rev. Benjamin J. 
Douglass's narrative of Christ Church, Broad Creek, in 
that volume, will now aid these notes. Those of you 
who have visited that fine and well preserved wooden 
building, which has stood for generations, know how 
attractive the spot is. Rev. Hamilton Bell is buried 
near the chancel of this ancient house of God. He was 
vividly remembered by the aged people of the neighbor- 
hood, and crowded congregations attested his power. 



250 EARLY CLERGY OF DELA\VARE, 

He founded St. John's Church, Little Hill, which was a 
colony of Christ Church. He was rector of Stepney- 
Parish, Maryland, which included Christ Church. He 
died in 181 1. He was called " Old Parson Bell," after 
his death, apparently because of the passage of time 
since that event, as he was only twenty-nine when he 
laid off his armor, and entered on his reward. The 
mention of St. John's Church, calls up a later name, 
that of my friend Rev. William R. Ellis, who for twenty 
years faithfully served this parish, and that of St. Mark's, 
Millsboro'. He died in 1887. He was a commendable 
student in the Philadelphia Divinity School, and 
returned to his native home to do His Master's work 
until that Master called him to a higher home. 

In riding around the lower part of Delaware }'ears 
ago to view the churches, with Rev. Robert L. Golds- 
borough, I was much struck with the fine old wooden 
church known as Prince George's Chapel, Dagsborough, 
which by its name recalls English days. It was built 
under St. Martin's Parish, Snow Hill, Maryland. 
Dagsborough takes its appellation 'from General John 
Dagworthy, a Revolutionary hero who is buried under 
the chancel of this church, according to an ancient 
custom. He had a stately mansion, which was ap- 
proached by an avenue of trees, and he was a very large 
land owner. 

Mrs. Hickman had the Church Bible of Prince 
George's Chapel, Avhich was published in London in 
A.D. 1750, by Thomas Baskett. 

Stepney Parish, in Maryland, which was so closely 
associated in old times with what is now Delaware had 
Rev. John Hewitt as rector in 1685, while Rev. George 
Trotter, and the ''venerable servant of God," as Mr. 
Douglass styles him. Rev. Samuel Adams were once 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 25 1 

rectors. Rev. John Scott held that post at the Revolu- 
tion and Rev. William Skelley afterwards. 

From 1820 to 1829 Bishop Stone, of Maryland, held 
Stepney Parish, and ministered at Christ Church, Broad 
Creek. Until 1765 this region was a part of Maryland, 
but when the boundary line was settled it was found to 
belong to Delaware. 

Rev. Joseph Glover, an English clergyman, who had 
been transferred to the American Church, labored at 
Christ Church, Seaford and Laurel in 1834, under the 
Society for the Advancement of Christianity in Pennsyl- 
vania. He finished his earthly work in 1835, ^"^^ his 
burial place is at the Seaford churchyard. Afterward 
Rev. Corry Chambers labored earnestly in this section. 
He was long an invalid in Wilmington, under the care 
of good Bishop Lee. Rev. J. Brinton Smith a-nd Rev. 
John W. Hoskins were rectors at Christ Church, Broad 
Creek, with its united churches. I recollect hearing Mr. 
Hoskins preach an impressive sermon on one of his 
visits to Delaware. The saintly Richard T. Cadle had 
charge of Christ Church at one time. He was a mis- 
sionary to the Indians in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Rev. 
Simon Wilmer, a noted clergyman of his day, and Rev. 
James Wiltbank must not be forgotten in this connec- 
tion. *' Parson Wiltbank," as he was called, was of 
Delaware stock, his ancestor having been an early 
settler at Lewes. The "parson" had a son named John, 
who was a professor in a medical college in Philadel- 
phia. Rev. Dr. Robins, head-master of the Episcopal 
Academy in Philadelphia, is a grandson of this worthy 
clergyman. Chancellor Harrington's mother was a 
daughter of '* Parson Wiltbank." 

In 1709 Rev. William Black held services in Lewes, 
though the church was not founded until sc\'cral vears 



252 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

afterward. In 1 768 Rev. Dr. John Andrews was success- 
fully at work at Lewes. He was a friend of the cele- 
brated Rev. Dr.Wm. Smith, of Philadelphia, who wrote a 
pleasant letter introducing him to the Bishop of London. 
Dr. Andrews became Provost of the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He was the great grandfather of Rev. Dr. 
John Andrews Harris, of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. 
Rev. John Wade and Rev. Stephen Sykesalso meet us at 
Lewes in the last century. In later da^s the genial 
clergyman, Rev. Thomas M. Martin, and the learned 
Dr. George Alexander Crooke held this ancient parish. 
Rev. John B. Henry afterward served as rector. 

Rev. Nathan Kingsbury taught school at Milton. 
Here in English days was built the church in the forest 
■mentioned in the report to the Propagation Society in 
England, and in these times a pretty new church has 
arisen to adorn and sanctify the village which perpetu- 
ates the name of one whose poem on Paradise has stirred 
the hearts of multitudes. 

Samuel Hazard, in his Register of Pennsylvania, 
speaks of Henry Brooke as a poet of Lewes, who was 
said to have been the son of an English baronet, so that 
Delaware could boast its poet, as latterly the Milford 
Bard had a national reputation, and this poet Lofland, 
is buried at St. Andrew's churchyard in Wilmington. 
Hazard notes the high state of society in Lewistown in 
early times. 

In the Penn and Logan correspondence I find Penn 
writing to Logan : '' Captain Rodney, a worthy good 
man, and now much missed in Kent, and Captain Hill 
in Sussex. . . . lately removed by death." Vol. 2, p. 
331, A. D., 1708-9. Was not this the Captam Hill in 
whose house services were held as mentioned in the 
beginning of this article ? 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 253 

If one would follow out the general history of the 
church in Delaware, he may find aid in some articles 
which appeared in the Church Press in 1887, which have 
not been incorporated into this review. The same year 
Rev. L. W. Gibson gave a history of Christ Church, 
Dover, in the Delaware an. 

I had intended to say something of the good mxch 
whose nam.es appear in the diocesan journals of modern 
time, but the night would wear away in the loving task. 
Bishop Freeman, at New Castle, and Rev. Dr. Wharton, 
in earlier days, and Rev. Sydenham Thorne, of Milford, 
and Rev. Mr. Presstman in recent ones, and Rev. Mr. 
Harold, of Middletown, deserves notice, as well as Rev. 
Jacob Rambo. Devout Mr. Brinckle who preached so 
earnestly when the convention met in the renewed 
Christ Church, at Dover, must not be forgotten, while 
Rev. George W. Johnson has but just closed his pure 
and patient life of service to Christ. 

Rev. Samuel Crawford Brinckle was born in Dover, 
in 1796. He was a graduate of Princeton College, was 
ordained deacon by Bishop White, in 18 18, and priest 
the next 5'ear. His wife was Julia, daughter of John 
Rumsey, Esq., of Wilmington. Rev. Levi Bull per- 
formed the marriage in 182 1. In 18 18 Rev. ]\Ir. Brinckle 
became rector of St. David's Church, Radnor, Pennsyl- 
vania, when he was twenty-two years old, and served 
the parish fourteen years,»beingalso rector of St. Peter's, 
Great Valley, for twelve of these years. He had charge 
of a number of churches in Delaware County, Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1832 he assumed the rectorship of Grace 
. Church, Philadelphia, remaining there two years. In 
I 1834 he became assistant to Rev. Dr. Jehu C. Clay in 
1' t*he Swedish Churches of St. James's, Kingscssing, and 
' Wicacoa, that is Gloria Dei, in Philadelphia, and Christ 



254 EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

Church, Upper Merion, afterward becoming rector of 
the country churches named, and holding them thirteen 
years and a half. In 1848 on the beautiful Brandywine 
Creek, near Wilmington, he organized Christ Church, 
Christiana Hundred, and a stone church of goodly 
appearance arose, which was filled by a flourishing con- 
gregation. Here he ended his honored and useful life 
on earth on the twelfth of March, A.D., 1863, at the age 
of sixty-seven, dying in the forty-fifth year of his min- 
istry, or shall we not say entering on a new life before 
God? 

A host of laymen crowd around me, but the limits of 
the discourse permit only such names as those of Wil- 
liam T. Read, Admiral du Pont, Franklin Fell, Bauduy 
Simmons, John B. Lewis, Dr. Cummins and George 
Lodge, and George and Henry Rodney, to rise to my 
lips. My lifelong friend. Rev. Thomas G. Clemson, 
was ordained at Claymont, in Ascension Church, (where 
his honored father, Rev. Dr. John B. Clemson, Avas long 
rector), and for a time assisted at St. John's Church in 
this city; he is now in Paradise. Rev. Messrs. Trapnell 
and Callalian were earlier workers in this Diocese. 

I wish some one would do for Delaware, and for every 
dioce'se, what Rev. Dr. T. Grayson Dashiell has done 
so well for Virginia ; that is, make a diocesan history by 
condensing the important facts of the journals into a 
volume. Every departed clergyman and layman of the 
convention might have a few words to keep green his 
memory. 

Within a short time God has taken from you the spiritual 
head of this diocese. A number of articles from news- 
papers lie before me which indicate how great was your 
sense of loss as a diocese, and as parishes, when you 
found yourself deprived of the guidance of one who 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 255 

had holily walked before you for a generation. As the 
Presiding Bishop of the Church, he was honored 
throughout the land. He had the strength of New 
England character, and from the time of his consecration 
in St. Paul's Church, New York, labored to do his duty 
toward the flock over which God had made him overseer. 
His gentle kindness to his clergy and people is fresh in 
your memory. His ripe scholarship was evinced in the 
works which flowed from his ready pen ; and the Word 
of God was his constant study. . Few have so well 
illustrated its precepts. As a volume lately appeared 
summing up the testimonials to his worth and his form 
has hardly faded from your streets, I need not repeat to 
you a well-known story. The throng at St. Andrew's 
Church at the funeral, indicated the feeling of loss, and 
while the dead bishop lay with the palm branch above 
him, we could but feel that his was the victory, while 
the struggle remained for us. 

God has sent you a new bishop, and the duty is to 
aid him in every new work that presents itself. I 
believe that I first saw Bishop Coleman at the consecra- 
tion of Bishop Bowman, at Christ Church, Philadelphia. 
He was then lookincr forward to entrance at the General 
Theological Seminary, where I was a student. I 
marked him there. His eager spirit found work in the 
Sunday-school of Trinity Church, New York, and in the 
public institutions, under the lead of Rev. Dr. T. M. 
Peters. His after life has been full of energy, and he 
has acquired practical wisdom in church work at home 
and in the Mother Church of England. In a noble 
service at St. John's Church, in this city, endeared by 
the recollection of a layman's generosity, (Alexis I. du 
Pont,) who was of his family, he took up the burden of 
the Episcopate as a life-long task. Now, as one who 



256 ' EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

has served for years in this Diocese, and knows it well, 
permit me to say a fev/ honest words. What are you 
going to do with your new bishop? Energy must have 
something to work with. A man may know how to lay a 
wall strongly, but he must have the stones brought to him. 
I want you to pity the case of a leader on whom much is 
laid, and whose resources cannot meet the demands. 
Becket proposed that Delaware be given by the English 
King to the Propagation Society. "The earth is the 
Lord's, and the fullness thereof," as the Psalm declares; 
and the gift would have been natural. Some benefactors 
did give land in Wilmington in large measure to further 
the work of the Swedish Church. I see splendid advance- 
ment in this State. The railways .and agriculture, and 
fruit culture have fostered towns and villages. The city 
of Wilmington was but a village in the days of the 
English missionaries. Money has come freely, and 
thousands have been poured out on your residences and 
places of business, but where is the Lord's portion? 
Men can build houses for themselves or their children, 
but too often the Lord's House lies waste. We need 
the idea of personal interest in the church as in family 
affairs, and then ways would open to do the work of 
God. A churchman in Hartford once mortgaged his 
house to relieve the obligation of the church. His 
heart vv^as in his work. If you were to give all the 
wealth owned by churchmen in Delaware to your bishop 
and clergy, as the early Christians laid their treasures 
at the feet of the Apostles, there Avould be none too 
much for the work of Christ at home and in foreign 
missions. If you cannot do this, one-tenth might well 
be spared. Would it not be a pleasant thought in 
Paradise that a church-bell was yet ringing on earth by 
means of your benefaction ? There is no worldly wealth 



EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE.' 257 

that can give such satisfaction as that treasure which 
our Blessed Lord told us to 'May up" in heaven, above 
the power of tile fretting moth, or corrupting rust, and 
stealing thief. You have seen riches ** fly away as an 
eagle," as the Scripture describes it. You may perhaps 
yourself have lost that which you wish now you had 
laid up ''in heaven." We have been following a shad- 
owy crowd of witnessess to-night, Avho are now beyond 
this earth, enjoying the result of their works which have 
followed them. You and I will soon be among them; 
while time is lent us, let us like them use it for our 
eternal good. You have already done nobly in the 
Episcopal Fund, but the aged and infirm clergy and 
schools need your attention ; and I presume the bishop 
could add to the list ; so do not hold back his work by 
keeping him out of material for labor. The organiza- 
tion of the Church Club was an excellent idea to bring 
out the results sought; and the alternation of the Con- 
ventions in the parishes gives the laymen an idea of 
church needs. There are country parishes where the 
death or removal of a few might hamper work ; so you 
need endowments ; and God, who gave you all things, 
should be remembered in your will, when you are sim- 
*ply dividing His gifts. This Diocese, in size, corresponds 
more nearly than usual to a primitive diocese ; and 
fully developed, it would blossom as the rose. Then 
help your bishop to develop it, and leave a mark for 
good after you. 

In treating of the past, the old parish at IMiddletown 
came under review. It is a pleasant fact that before 
1837 your bishop's father. Rev. Dr. John Coleman, was 
rector of Middletown, in connection with St. Stephen's, 
Cecilton, Maryland. Some of the parishioners at 
Middletown yet remember him with affection. lie was 



258 ■ EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 

afterward rector of Trinity Church, Philadelphia, and 
editor of the Banner of the Cross, being noted as a 
preacher of power without notes, and a forcible and 
able writer. 

Can we close better, in reflecting on the labors of the 
clergy, yet toiling in the Lord's vineyard, than in the 
words of the Divine Liturgy of St. James : " Remem- 
ber, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honorably 
in the Holy (services) of Thy Church." 



APPENDIX. 



REV. JOHN ANDREWS, D.D. 

THIS clergyman was the son of Moses and Letitia 
Andrews, and was born in Cecil County, Mary- 
land, in A.D., 1746. His pious fatherplaced him 
at the age of seven, at the Elk School. At seventeen he 
was in the College of Philadelphia, where he graduated in 
1 765 with honor. He was a tutor in the Grammar School. 
He took charge of a classical school at Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania, and studied theology under the devoted 
missionary, the Rev. Thomas Barton. He went to Eng- 
land, with Rev. Dr. Magaw, for ordination. In 1767 he 
was ordained deacon by the Bishop of St. David's, and 
soon after priest by the Bishop of London, Dr. Terrick. 
As Rev. Dr. William Smith was the president of the 
college where he had graduated, he wrote a letter to 
the Bishop of London introducing him pleasantly. In 
1768 we find this young clergyman engaged in succsssful 
church work in Lewes, Delaware, according to one of 
his letters. In 1769 Dr. Smith writes that Mr. Andrews 
gave a "favorable account of the good disposition, lib- 
eral contributions, large numbers of people and great 
importance of the Lewes Mission." He did not wish 
to leave it unprovided for, and desired Mr. L)'on to 
visit it with the idea of his assuming it. 

In 1 77 1 Mr. Andrews was at York, Pennsylvania, 
where they were building an elegant church of brick. 

(259; 



26o APPENDIX. 

The people loved the church, and were zealous for its 
interests, and the rector was happy in his situation. 
This missionary had charge of Carlisle in connection 
with York. In 1772 he married Elizabeth Callender, an 
excellent lady. 

The parishioners regretted the loss of their minister 
when he removed to Queen Anne's County, Maryland. 
The governor of that province appointed him rector of 
St. John's parish, where he remained until some time 
after the Declaration of Independence. He returned to 
York and opened a classical school with a successful 
result. Major Andre was at York on parole, and shared 
the hospitality of Dr. Andrews, and seemed happy in 
meeting friends of the American cause there, and 
American supporters enjoyed his company. 

Ih 1782 Dr. Andrews was rector of St. Thomas's 
parish, in Baltimore County, Maryland, and St. James's 
Church, Northeast. He had a boarding school two 
miles from Green Springs, and afterward at Poplar Hill. 
He was at the first Maryland Diocesan Convention, in 
June, 1784, and active in the new organization, and was 
connected with measures for reorganizing the Church 
after the Revolution. 

The wide heart of the man displays itself in the fact 
that he strove to find means to unite Coke, Wesley, 
Asburyand other Methodist preachers with the Church. 
Dr. Coke was an English presbyter, and would not have- 
been averse to some peaceful arrangement. The Rev, 
Mr. West, rector of St. Paul's, Baltimore, worked with 
Dr. Andrews to elTect this union when the Methodist 
preachers met in Baltimore. 

The Doctorate in Divinity was given to Mr. Andrews 
by Washington College, in Maryland, when Rev. Dr. 
William Smith was president of that institution. In 



APPENDIX. 261 

1785 the Protestant Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia 
was established, with Dr. Andrews as its head. He was 
successful in this work, now so well continued by Rev. 
Dr. James W. Robins. 

When Bishop White went to England for consecra- 
tion Dr. Andrews supplied his place at Christ and St. 
Peter's Churches. He was the rector of St. James the 
Greater, at Bristol, Pennsylvania, for several years. 

In 1789 he was Professor of Humanity in the College 
and Academy of Philadelphia. In 1791 the institution 
united with the University of the State of Pennsylvania, 
and the honored name of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania designated the combined colleges. Dr. Andrews 
became the vice-provost. In 1810 he was elevated to 
the provostship, when Dr. McDowell resigned. In 18 13 
Dr. Andrews, being in ill health, resigned, and the 
trustees provided for his support, and he did duty, 
expecting a successor, but was overtaken by death at 
the age of sixty-seven. He was buried in Christ Church 
graveyard, and the funeral sermon was preached by Rev. 
Dr. Abercrombie, from Numbers 23: 10, '* Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
his." Dr. Andrews was the father of ten children. 
Some of the sermons of this clergyman were printed, 
and he was the author of a Logic and a Rhetoric. 

Rev. Dr. Samuel B. How describes him as tall and 
dignified and courteous, honest in opinions, of good 
judgment, benevolent, cheerful, and a fine conversation- 
alist. He was an eloquent preacher, and a good theo- 
logian, and won the respect of his students. One of 
these pupils was John McAllister, who describes his 
gentlemanly manners, and conversational lectures stimu- 
lating the students to think and read. He was apt to 
close with a pleasant remark. 
16 



262 APPENDIX. 

Authorities: Bishop Perry, and Sprague's Annals, 
Bishop White's Memoir notices Dr. Andrews. The. 
Doctor had a country place at Germantown. An oil 
painting of him is in the study of Rev. Dr. John 
Andrews Harris, his great-grandson, at St. Paul's Church 
rectory, Chestnut Hill. 

REV.> FREDERICK BEASLEV, D.D. 

In compiling Dr. Beasley's Memoir Dr. Sprague was 
aided by Moore's funeral sermon. Rev. Dr. Samuel A. 
Clark's History of St. John's Church, Elizabeth, N. J., 
Sharswood's address to the Alumni Society of the 
University of Pennsylvania, and manuscripts from the 
Rev. F. W. Beasley and Chancellor Williamson. The 
Rev. Dr. F. W. Beasley was over forty years rector of All 
Saints', Lower Dublin, near Torresdale, Philadelphia. 
This worthy man by his blameless and useful life well 
continued the work of his father. 

Frederick Beasley was the child of John and Mary 
(Blount) Beasley and was born near the beautiful town 
of Edenton in North Carolina, in A. D., 1777. His father 
was a planter. The lad graduated with honor at the 
College of New Jersey in 1797, and was atutor there while 
studying theology under the President, the famous Rev. 
Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, whom he ever venerated. 
In College he was intimate with Bishop Hobart and Rev. 
Dr. Henry Kollock, who became a noted Presbyterian 
divine. 

In 1800 Frederick Beasley was lay-reader in Christ 
Church, New Brunswick for several months. Bishop 
Moore of New York ordained hirn deacon in 1801 and 
priest'in 1802. He took the rectorship of St. John's 
Church, Elizabethtown, N. J. He was next rector of 



APPENDIX. 263 

St. Peter's, Albany, and afterward of St. Paul's, Balti- 
more. In his inaugural sermon in Baltimore, which 
was printed, he declared that Christ crucified should be 
the theme of his preaching. He was the associate rector 
of Dr. Read and two churches were held by the two 
rectors. On the death of Dr. Bend, Dr. Kemp succeeded 
him. Dr. Beasley's health was not strong and so he 
thought best to resign his position and accept the Pro- 
vostship of the University of Pennsylvania. He entered 
on this duty 1813. The place was congenial to his 
scholarly taste, and he filled it faithfully for about 
fifteen years. He assisted his ministerial brethren when 
needed and was a member of the Standing Committee. 
He was a special friend of Bishop White. In 1829 Dr. 
Beasley became rector of St. Michael's Church, Trenton, 
N. J. In 1836, being in poor health he resigned and 
moved to Elizabeth, where he remained the rest of his 
life. He occasionally preached and in Rev. Dr. Moore's 
absence supplied the parish for six months. As death 
approached he submitted to the Divine will, endeavoring 
to quiet the grief of his family by directing them to God 
for comfort. He died Nov. ist, A.D., 1845, entering the 
Paradise of God on All Saints' Day. His funeral was 
at St. John's Church and the rector, Rev. Richard 
Channing Moore preached a funeral sermon shortly 
afterward. 

Dr. Beasley's first wife was Susan W. Dayton, the 
daughter of General Jonathan Dayton, of Elizabeth. 
His second wife was Maria, the daughter of Matthias 
Williamson. One son of this lady, was the Rev. Dr. 
Frederick W. Beasley, who graduated at the University 
of Pennsylvania in 1827, and was a student at the Gen- 
eral Theological Seminary, in New York City. He 
spent many years in the rectory at Eddington, holding 



264 APPENDIX. 

what was called Oak Grove Chapel, in connection with 
All Saints' Church, several miles below, and in later 
years the Chapel of the Redeemer at Andalusia was 
also under his care, the Rev. W. F. C. Morsell, his son- 
in-law being his assistant for a time. He afterward 
removed to the new rectory at Tofresdale. A white 
marble cross marks his grave beside All Saints' Church 
and another cross is in memory of a son who sleeps at 
his side. He left the savor of a sweet and holy life to 
encourage his parishioners and fellow clergy in the path 
of Christian duty. 

The Rev. Rush S. Eastman now holds the rectorship 
of All Saints' Church, while the Rev. Edwin J. Humes 
has charge of Christ Church, Eddington, which has 
become a separate parish. Mr. Humes has just com- 
pleted a beautiful new rectory and a pretty Sunday- 
school building was erected not long since. 

One of the children of Rev. Provost Beasley is now 
Chancellor of New Jersey, Provost Beasley wrote a 
number of works for print, one of which was a philoso- 
phical treatise styled "A Search of Truth in the Science 
of the Human Mind." 

President Charles King, of Columbia College, pleas- 
antly describes his intercourse with Dr. Beasley at 
Elizabeth, where they were neighbors. The Doctor 
lived in a large house of old fashioned style, in the edge 
of the town near the river. He delighted in the trees and 
garden which surrounded it, and was much in the open 
air. When he preached at St. John's his sermons were 
thoughtful and learned. His appearance attracted one, 
as the face was intelligent, the voice gentle, and the 
manners simple. He was cheerful and sympathetic, and 
in age took an interest in religion and in politics and 
learning. In politics he was ever an optimist. He 



APPENDIX. 265 

sought the welfare of others when his own days were 
closing. 

The Presbyterian Divine Dr. Nicholas Murray, (the 
famous Kirwan of the New York Observer), writes that 
his intimacy with Dr. Beasley was in the evening of his 
life. Age had not restrained his active step. His 
powdered head was the mark of an ancient fashion, 
which he was the last in the community to observe. 
" His eyes were blue and lively, his forehead was high 
and thoughtful ; his chin rather projecting than receding; 
and his whole countenance wore a kindly and benignant 
aspect." He was remarkable for frankness and social- 
bility, and very polite. Hewasve^ed deeply in mental 
and moral philosophy, and well read in the Church 
Fathers. The Doctor was amiable and childlike. Dn 
Murray *' loved him as a friend ;" and *' mourned for him 
as a father " at his death. 

Professor George B. Wood, M.D., of the University 
of Pennsylvania was a student when Dr. Beasley became 
Provost, and was intimate with him for years. He 
speaks of his strict conscientiousness which made him 
courageously follow duty without regarding conse- 
quences. Being honest himself he was not suspicious 
of others, until experience taught caution. In philos- 
ophy he was an enthusiastic disciple of Locke. He was 
a warm friend, and eager in praising his friends to others, 
while he did not confine his friendships to the living, 
but considered dead authors as if they were his loving 
contemporaries. He was mild and benevolent. He 
studied style in composition, but wrote with elegant 
simplicity, and plain precision, ever regardful of truth. 
He spoke well in public, and had a pulpit reputation. 
Dr. Wood closes thus: "There are few among those 
with whom I have been associated, during the cour.'-e of 



266 APPENDIX. 

a life now somewhat advanced, upon whom I look back 
with more kindly feelings or higher esteem." 

REV. GEORGE BOYD, D.D. 

The Rev. Dr. Richard B. Van Kleeck contributed a 
sketch of this worthy clergyman to Sprague's Annals. 
Dr. Boyd was the uncle of Dr. Van Kleeck on his 
mother's side. George Boyd, the son of Robert and 
Eleanor Boyd, was a native of New York City, where 
he was born in 1788. He was a graduate of Columbia 
College, and a law student of the Hon. James Emott, of 
Poughkeepsie. He married a daughter of Robert 
Livingston named Elizabeth, and settled in Ogdensburg 
as a lawyer. He afterwards studied theology under the 
Rev. Dr. Reed, the rector of Christ Church, Pough- 
keepsie. Bishop Hobart ordained him in 181 4, and he 
became rector of St. John's Church, Northern Liberties, 
Philadelphia, now in charge of the Rev. George A. Lati- 
mer. This was his only parish, and he performed a long 
and faithful work in it. He was greatly beloved, and was 
useful in his diocese, and in the church at large. He 
was president of the standing committee, a member of 
the Board of Missions, a trustee of the General Theo- 
logical Seminary and a delegate to the General Conven- 
tion. As secretary and general agent of the domestic 
committee of the Board of Missions, -he labored zeal- 
ously to advance Christianity. The University of Penn- 
sylvania made him a Doctor in Divinity. 

Dr. Boyd was honest and conscientious in his whole 
course of life. Reproaches and sacrifices moved him 
not, but with childlike simplicity he did his duty. He 
became convinced that the free church system was 
right, and with much trouble and many trials established . 



APPENDIX. 267 

it at St John's. He lovingly looked for his Saviour's 
appearing, and strove to be ready to meet Him. His 
deep piety was seen in his walk with God, and his 
incessant prayer. In private and public the peace and 
love of God were displayed as principles of life. His 
religion was his chief joy. In family life he was ever 
loving and instructive. His wife died about three years 
before him. In illness he preached when scarcely able 
to stand. As I'ife ebbed away he was submissive to 
God, trusting in the merits of his Saviour. He received 
the Holy Eucharist, and, as bodily strength failed, was 
renewed in spirit. He comforted those about him. He 
died peacefully, falling asleep in Jesus, in the midst of 
his sorrowing family, on December 3rd, A.D., 1850, 
being sixty-two years old, and having been over thirty- 
five years in the sacred ministry. 

Dr. Boyd was honored in life and lamented in death. 
The virtue and example of this faithful steward of God's 
mysteries were commemorated by a committee of the 
clergy. Asa preacher. Dr. Boyd was ''earnest, instruct- 
ive, logical and often very effective. His voice was 
decidedly musical, and yet made great power and com- 
pass. He was said by his contemporaries to have been 
one of the best declaimers in Columbia College." Dr. 
Van Kleeck adds that he delivered his Divine message 
fearless of man, speaking the truth boldly and lovingl}% 
whether men heard or forbore hearing, desiring b}- 
manifesting the truth to commend himself to the con- 
science of every man in God's sight. The narrative 
closes thus : '' His fine and manly form, his high intel- 
lectual forehead, his open and beautiful countenance, 
his sweet and pleasant smile, are indelibly impressed 
upon my memory and shall never fade nor fail, until (as 
I hope and trust) I shall see him again ' in the resur- 
rection of the just,' raised and beautified and glorified 



2 68 APPENDIX. 

in his Saviour's image, for a blessed immortality." Dr. 
Van Kleeck has followed his beloved uncle to Paradise, 
and there Ave leave them together, resting peacefully 
after the close of life's struggles, and, perhaps, com- 
muning together of *'the deep things of God" which 
they understood here in shadows, but now see more 
clearly, as they await the time when all the redeemed 
shall be gathered into the garner of God. The con- 
nection starts a thought on clerical families, two of Dr. 
Van Kleeck's sons are now^ serving at the altars of the 
church to which their father and his uncle devoted their 
lives. 

REV. DR. GREGORY TOWXSEXD BEDELL, D.D. 

Few clergymen ha\'e left so deep an impress on 
Philadelphia as the one whose name heads this sketch. 
He had an unction which made his words wondrously 
effective for good, and crowds were drawn to hear his 
preaching of the Gospel. His published sermons show 
a devout and earnest mind, and the feeling that glowed 
in them is especially evident in that discourse on the 
blessed martyr Polycarp which is enough to draw tears 
from eyes unused to weep. His son w^ho continued his 
father's work in the higher sphere of a bishop, describes 
the trembling zeal w^ith which he pleaded the cause of 
Greek independence, while he, as a boy, sat in the 
pulpit in the eroAvded state of the church. Wh'ile this 
powerful preacher has been dead over a half a century, 
I find that those who were his parishioners in youth 
speak of him as vividly as if he were just departed, and 
so he lives on in this vivid memory of his life and teach- 
ings. 

In Dr. Sprague's Annals the Memoir by Dr. Tyng, 
and a letter from Bishop Mcllvaine form the basis of a 



^ . APPENDIX. 269 

sketch which I will synopsize. The birthplace of Dr. 
Bedell w^as Staten Island, and 1793 was the year of his 
birth. Israel Bedell, his father, was an excellent man, 
of a lovely character ; and his mother was a sister of 
Bishop Moore of Virginia. She was attractive, intelli- 
gent and amiable, and a devout Christian. The only 
son Gregory was of a gentle disposition, and at the age 
of two years could accurately sing several tunes. He 
was delicate in health. Theboy attended the Episcopal 
Academy at Cheshire, Connecticut, where he was be- 
loved by his fellows and improved his opportunities for 
acquiring knowledge. He graduated in Columbia 
College in 181 1, and studied theology under Dr. How, 
an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York. 
He became a friend of Bishop Hobart, whom he ever 
held in high esteem. The Bishop ordained him in 1814. 
The young preacher at once stirred an interest in his 
hearers by his elocution and style. He travelled through 
the South, and in 181 5 becam.e rector at Hudson, N. Y. 
He married the worthy Penelope Thurston of this place. 
In 1818 he entered on the rectorship of Fayetteville, N. 
C. This spiritually minded man had weekly meetings 
for prayer and Scripture exposition at his own house. 
He was a peacemaker, and strove to do good both 
w^ithin and without the lines of his parish obligations. 
He was interested in the American Bible Society. I 
have read in one of the old Annuals a beautiful account 
of one phase of the Doctor's experience which ought 
to be issued in a tract form, as a companion to that on 
Samuel Gunn, the lay-reader of Ohio, to encourage 
lay-readers. Dr. Bedell found an aged patriarch in the 
wilds of North Carolina, who for a generation had kept 
up lay services like those of the crew of the ship 
Bounty, and when the clergyman visited the rustic 



270 APPENDIX. 

home he was received with great joy, and the children 
of two or three generations were given to God in Holy 
Baptism, and in time, after the delightful services which 
the aged patriarch Avas permitted to witness, a church 
rose up in the neighborhood to the delight of the 
lay-reader. Were every Western church emigrant as 
faithful as he in the use of our beautiful service we 
should not hear of so much faithless and needless 
wandering from the fold. 

Considerations of health brought' Dr. Bedell north- 
ward. The Rev. Benjamin Allen wished him to start a 
new church in Philadelphia. He established St. An- 
drew's Church, w^hich has been a blessing to this city. 
The parish grew under his wise and faithful work. His 
health became impaired, and he with his wife and son 
went to Bedford Springs. Before leaving he adminis- 
tered the Holy Communion, and preached the sermon 
which proved to be his final one. He grew worse, after 
a little improvement, at Bedford, and started to return 
through Baltimore, where he was arrested by death, and, 
as Bonar expresses it, was 

"Beyond the coming and the going." 

He was joyful "and serene and triumphant as death 
approached, though he was only in his forty-first year ; 
and would seem to have but begun a career of useful- 
ness. Dr. Bedell was buried in Philadelphia, and, the 
Sunday after the funeral,' Bishop Moore, of Virginia, 
preached a touching funeral sermon to the people of St. 
Andrew's on their affliction, -and his own. Dr. Tyng 
preached a funeral sermon afterwards. Dr. Bedell was 
the author of a number of religious works. 

Bishop Mcllvaine, as the intimate friend of the subject 
of this sketch, describes him as an invalid in his latter 



APPENDIX, 271 

years, and attenuated, as his portrait displays him. The 
amount of work this weak man performed was wonder- 
ful. In pulpit and lecture-room, in Sunday-shool and 
Bible Class duties, or in missionary work, or visitations 
from house to house, he did the full labor of a strong 
man. He had a good parish system which stimulated 
devotion and benevolence, and kept his people employed, 
and his personal influence was powerful. . The shepherd 
toiled with a good spirit, making his cares his delights, 
as Bishop Mcllvaine w^ell observes, and adds that he 
served God as a son and servant, bearing an easy yoke. 
His orderly system enabled him to do much without 
wasting time. He was practical and direct in his 
Christian work, and had good judgment in action. His 
preaching was simple and clear and engaging. Crowded 
congregations filled St. Andrew's Church throughout 
his ministry. ' His own Christian experience was freely 
given in his discourses, and it touched other hearts. 
The Gospel was clearly stated in its doctrines, and the 
eloquence of truth prevailed. The eye of the preacher 
was impressive, and his countenance affectionate, indi- 
cating feeling, while the wasted countenance showed 
that the messenger was preaching from the border of 
the grave, and looking into the world he described. A 
clear voice, and a striking delivery added effect to the 
words spoken. To him the Gospel centered in Christ, 
and by setting forth his cross and glory, his sacrifice 
and intercession, he woke the conscience, and moved 
the heart. The work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification 
was ever presented. 

Dr. Bedell was courageous in following the path of 
duty. His ill health warned him that the end might be. 
near, and he lived for heaven. He was humble and 
loving, and given to meditation. He was social and 



272 APPENDIX. 

kind, though serious. Thus have we briefly given the 
points of a saintly character as sketched by Bishop 
Mcllvaine, and they show that its outer strength lay in 
its hidden life. His work still remains, and many in 
Philadelphia yet praise God for the grace that was in 
him, which led their steps heavenward in youth, and 
blesses their age with glorious hope. Would that many 
more like this devoted servant of Christ might arise to 
carry on his work in the city where he so effectively 
preached Christ crucified in his burning words and in 
his zealous life. 

Sketches of the rectors of St. Andrew's may be found 
in Bishop Stevens's "Past and Present of St. Andrew's." 
Bishop Clark was the third rector succeeding Rev. Dr. 
J. A. Clark, and he is now the honored and faithful 
Bishop of "Rhode Island. Bishop Stevens followed 
him, and earned a good degree in his toilsome work 
here. Rev. Dr. Wilbur F. Paddock continues the good 
work, and has wisely striven to endow the parish. Some 
twenty thousand Sunday-school children have been 
taught in this parish, and a large number of clergy have 
gone out from it. The amount of money raised in Dr. 
Paddock's rectorship has exceeded a million dollars. 
The late Rev. Dr. John Cotton Smith thought in the time 
during which he had traced its work, the parish had a 
most striking history. A good foundation was laid by 
Dr. Bedell who built on the "corner-stone" Christ 
Jesus. 

REV. JOHN ALONZO CLARK, D.D. 

St. Andrews's Church, Philadelphia, has been blessed 
with worthy rectors from the day of its founder. Dr. 
Bedell. Bishop Stevens, and Rev. Francis Peck, 
at the request of the indefatigE^ble Dr. Sprague, 



APPENDIX. 273 

combined to give a narrative of Dr. J. A. Clark. The 
fragrant character of this rector remained when he slept 
in dust. John and Chloe (Atwater) Clark were his 
parents, and his birthplace was Pittsfield, Mass. Born 
in 1 80 1, he had a Revolutionary father and grandfather, 
and his ancestors were religious. His constitution was 
delicate. Two brothers, William Atwater Clark and 
Orin Clark were Episcopal clergymen. Dr. Clark was 
confirmed at the age of fifteen, by Bishop Hobart, in 
Manlius, N. Y., whither his parents had removed. He 
studied under his brothers, and afterward graduated 
at Union College, in 1823. His theological course of 
study was guided by Rev. Dr. McDonald, in Geneva, 
and he spent a short time at the General Theological 
Seminary, in New York City. In A.D., 1826, he was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Hobart, and entered on 
missionary work in Palmyra, N. Y. He afterwards 
became assistant rector in Christ Church, in the city of 
New York, under Rev. Dr. Lyell as rector. The young 
divine toiled with ardor here, and his sermons made 
deep and lasting impressions. 

In 1832 ^he assumed the rectorship of Grace Church. 
in Providence, R. I., a parish then feeble, but by his 
energy strengthened in piety and influence. His zeal 
was regardless of health. He held meetings in private 
houses to propagate Christian truth. The Spirit of God 
blessed that work, and salvation came to these houses 
as to that of Zaccheus. In 1835 Dr. Clark was called 
to the rectorship of St. Andrew's, Philadelphia, after 
the death of Dr. Bedell. During his rectorship he was 
obliged to visit Europe in an effort to regain health, but 
in 1843 was compelled by weakness of body to resign 
his post. He submissively endured the trial which 
carried him from a field of active usefulness to sickness 
and death. 



2 74 APPENDIX. 

The Doctorate in Divinity was conferred on this faith- 
ful man by Kenyon College. Dr. Clark's death 
occurred on November 27th, A.D., 1843. Bishop 
Stevens says : *' He offered himself a living sacrifice 
unto Go^. He was consumed by the fire which the 
love of Christ had kindled, and the love of souls had 
fanned into a devouring flame." This could now be 
said of the Bishop's own work. Dr. Clark's brief time 
of labor for Christ was well spent, and his death was 
deeply lamented. He was the author of several books, 
and his ''Walk about Zion " was a loving delineation 
of the Episcopal Church as a road heavenward. A 
volume of sermons was issued after his death. The 
wife of Dr. Clark was Sarah Buell. Six of his nine 
children died before their father. 

In character this clergyman was delicate and refined, 
and emotional, and large-hearted, and firm, though 
gentle. His sermons were earnest and instructive, and 
full of Gospel truth, and were delivered with a serious- 
ness and unction that had a thrilling effect on the 
hearers. Affliction had s'olemnized him, and fitted him 
to console those in distress. He was a prayerful man, 
and his faith and zeal and wisdom were apparent to all. 
With conscientious fidelity, and sound judgment, and a 
single heart, he performed his ministry in the church, 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

The Rev. Mr. Peck vividly describes his first meeting 
with Mr. Clark in a village on the Narragansett at a 
Clerical Convocation. His figure was slight, but he 
walked erect, and his bearing indicated decision. His 
greeting was marked with " Christian cordiality," and 
this visit to Mr. Peck's parish was the beginning of a 
friendship which lasted through his life. Mr. Clark's 
appearance forced respect for his holy office as he 



APPENDIX. 275 

seemed to feel its responsibility. His countenance dis- 
played his Christian character. Though serious, at 
times his pleasant laugh would ring out on proper 
occasions. His disease may have kept the last hour, 
and the judgment of God, and eternal life ever before 
him, and the worth of the soul, and human responsi- 
bility, seemed always in his mind. He husbanded his 
time, and was glad when the day was crowded full of 
beneficence. As his assistant, when souls \vere being 
harvested in a revival, and as a member of his family, 
Mr. Peck observed that ministerial success comes through 
industry, as does temporal wealth. Dawn found this 
man of God at prayer, and the morning brought study, 
while physical exercise was not forgotten. He studied 
what would be useful in dealing with his fellow-men. 
Passing events furnished seeds of contemplation, and 
the mercies or calamities -of Providence would some- 
times furnish themes for the sermon of the Lord's Day. 
A live sermon produced interest in the hearers, while 
earnest conviction in the preacher gave it a power which 
eternity will disclose. He preached with plainness and 
directness, stating Divine truth with clearness and force. 
He first alarmed the sluggish, and then pointed them to 
the Lamb of God, as a refuge from sin. He knew his 
people spiritually, and so adapted his sermons to their 
needs, and private conversations often inspired a sermon. 
If he saw a hearer interested in a sermon on a Sunday, 
he would soon call on him to give instructive counsel. 
His printed writings were simple, natural and affection- 
ate. He indeed made a "full proof" of his ministry. 
He faithfully continued his work in illness. His energy 
and devotion to his work exhausted his frail frame, but 
he condensed into a few years the labor of many years. 
Mr. Peck thus describes his final interview with this 



276 APPENDIX, 

good man, a month or two before he died. '' My name 
Was announced, and soon I heard a slow and feeble step 
descending the staircase. I rose and grasped the ema- 
ciated hand of my friend. Consumption had been 
silently but irresistibly doing its work. It was to myself 
a painful greeting , but I saw upon his countenance a 
a smile that seemed to betoken the clustered blessings 
of a well-spent life — peace with himself, with the world 
and with God. He felt that his work was done — most 
imperfectly indeed, in his own conception, but still 
acceptably, for the Redeemer's sake. Thus he passed 
away, leaving blessed fruits of his labors here on earth, 
to enter upon the glorious rewards reserved for those 
who 'turn many to righteousness.' " 

REV. JAMES MONTGOMERY, D.D. 

The Rev. William White Montgomery, the son of Dr. 
Montgomery, contributed a manuscript to Sprague's 
Annals, which gave an account of his father's life, while 
" The Missionary," in 1834, and a touching letter from 
Bishop Doane, completed the narrative. 

Philadelphia was the birthplace of the future rector of 
St. Stephen's Church, and 1787 was the year of his 
birth. His ancestor William Montgomerie came from 
Ayrshire, Scotland, to East Jersey. His .father was 
John Montgomery, a Philadelphia merchant, and a 
Revolutionary soldier. His mother was Mary Crathorne 
**of a West Indian family." 

James Montgomery was educated at Dr. Hall's School, 
in Harford County, Maryland, and the Grammar School 
and College at Princeton, N. J., graduating in 1805. 
He studied law with Judge Hopkinson, of Philadelphia. 
After several years spent as a lawyer he was ordained 



APPENDIX. 



77 



by Bishop White in 1816, and became rector of St. 
Michael's Church, Trenton, N. J. Bishop Croes ordained 
him to the priesthood. In 1818 he assumed the rector- 
ship of Grace Church, New York City, but in 1823 he 
entered on his duties as rector of the new St. Stephen's 
Church, in Philadelphia, having resigned Grace Church 
in 1820, and employed himself in temporary' duties in 
vacant churches about this city in the interim. Bishop 
Hobart preached the consecration sermon at St. Steph- 
en's on the 27th February, A.D., 1823. 

Dr. Montgomery was a member of the Standing Com- 
mittee, and a delegate to General Convention, and a 
Director of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary 
Societ}', being on the Executive Committee of that 
body. He was also a Trustee of the General Theolog- 
ical Seminary. Hobart College, honored him with a 
Doctorate in Divinity. When illness attacked this 
faithful pastor, he worked on beyond his strength. On 
the closing Sunday of the year 1833, he preached with 
noticeable earnestness, and his solemnity' was striking. 
The following week he suffered an attack of hemorrhage 
of the lungs, but was resigned to God's will, and 
showed that he felt the force of truths which he had 
taught to others. He died on the 17th of ?^Iarch, A.D., 
^834. 

The first wife of Dr. ^Montgomery was Eliza Dennis 
Teackle, of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and his 
second wife was Mar>' Harrison White, whose father 
was Thomas H. White, Esq., a son of the Bishop. The 
Rev. Wm. White Montgomery, and Thos. H. Montgom- 
ery are the children of this lady. 

Bishop George W. Doane's letter contains a beautiful 
account of the life and death of his dear friend, the 
rector of St. Stephen's. He describes him as a ripe 



278 APPENDIX. 

scholar, and practically wise in the observation of men, 
coupled with reflection. He was both contemplative 
and active. His early companions revered him in his 
ministry, which was successful to the last in winning 
souls to Christ. He was a good citizen, neighbor and 
friend, being cheerful, accessible, and even playful with 
those he loved, which indicated a peaceful mind. He 
was ready to serve all with counsel and purse. To the 
suffering in mind or body he was gentle and prudently 
helpful. His delicate candor gave him wide influence; 
and he almost made himself one with those in temptation 
that he might extricate them. The sick and sorrowful 
looked to him for comfort and sympathy, and did not 
look in vain. As a minister of Christ's Church, his love 
for souls was visible to all. He strove to impart to 
others with ardor the religious faith which had blessed 
his own life. He had felt the sinful load of the natural 
man, and had found relief from it in the atoning blood 
of Christ ; and justification by faith, and sanctification by 
the Spirit were to him the great points of the Gospel, 
and he looked 'rightly on the church as a part of the 
plan of salvation instituted by Christ. He called ''the 
sacred triad of principles," Gospel truth, in the Gospel 
church, producing Gospel fruits. 

As a peacemaker Dr. Montgomery deserves remem- 
brance. As a parish minister he was useful in word and 
doctrine ; and he wore out his life in earnest and 
devoted labors for Christ ; his forcible preaching strained 
a feeble body almost bursting with its Divine message. 
He felt the great responsibility of haying a congregation 
upon his heart and conscience, and he strove in the 
spirit of his Divine Master to lure them heavenward by 
his teaching and example. 

Bishop Doane was sent for when his friend was dying, 
and saw a scene which may have delighted angels, as 



APPENDIX. 



279 



the man of God lay on his death bed, holding his 
beloved prayer-book. His countenance was peaceful 
and joyful as he welcomed the Bishop, and declared 
himself ''perfectly happy." His wife and family were 
present, and prayers and hymns were brightening the 
sick room with a heavenly glow. As the wife, trembling 
with emotion, at her husband's request, read "Welcome 
sweet day of rest," the dying man replied, "Yes, 
welcome, welcome, welcome, blessed day, day of peace 
and rest, and holy joy ! " He continued to comment on 
each line,. as he thought of Christ rising from the tomb 
to be the light and glory of the world, and to revive 
the hearts of the faithful with hope, and rejoice their 
eyes. He prayed to the "Blessed Jesus," that He 
would bring all who did not know him "into the splen- 
did circle of Thy glory." His pathetic fervor surpassed 
description. "Another six days* work is done" was 
read and thus commented on. He then read it himself, 
and sang it low, but clearly, asking the Bishop to join 
him in the Doxology, and to give the blessing, to 
which he responded, "Amen, Amen." He called on 
the Bishop to bear witness that he died "in the faith of 
the Lord Jesus Christ," putting his." trust for pardon " 
in His merits and death. He acknowledged his sinful- 
ness, but declared that he was set upon the " Rock of 
Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ," to .whom all must 
come for salvation. He asked to receive the Holy 
Communion, which was administered that day to him 
by Bishop Onderdonk. He fervently received the 
broken Body and shed Blood of Christ, saying that he 
then "discerned the Lord's body," as never before, and 
confided as truly in his Saviour as if he "saw Him in 
His glory." As he grew weaker, he continued singing 
Hymns, until the faltering tongue refused its duty here. 



28o APPENDIX. 

waiting to resume it in Paradise. At last the moans 
ceased, and painlessly he closed his earthly journey. A 
prayer arose in the chamber of death for comfort to the 
toilers left in this world of disappointment and separation. 
The sacred Sunday had just passed into the morning of 
the following day when the relief came, but the freed 
spirit was learning that ''There remaineth therefore a 
rest (literally a Sabbath-keeping) to the people of God." 
Heb. 4: 9. 



H 29 82 























■^ X J, ''♦^'8[P*% * -.^ v^ • ^ ' Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 

*\ ^ *i<i ' • • " J^^ «^ *^ Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 

* " • • • ''^^ .0 * • yrpyZ-' ^ Treatment Date: March 2006 

'm^^^\ ^ PreservationTechnologies 

«^ O^ *^^^5^^*'^0 4 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

^ i^ **^W!^^^^ * ' '" rnomson Park Drive 

1^ */'**^'^« A,^ Q-. «»^^'*^^i^* -O^ CranberrvTownship, PA 16066 

l'*'*Vp> ♦..'.• V^ O^ ♦ - , o « ^0 (724)779-2111 




*Ao^ 






^■i^* e,^"'i> "WWW' .x^'tc ''^^Sal^l ,i>^„ 








LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

mil 




